


The Griffin Manor

by Sunburnt_Optimist



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist Clarke Griffin, Awkward Lexa (The 100), Confused Clarke Griffin, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Shy Lexa (The 100), Slow Burn, Smut, Snapchat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-05-07 09:21:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 76,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14668074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunburnt_Optimist/pseuds/Sunburnt_Optimist
Summary: Lexa's mother Indra is offered a job working as a housekeeper for the Griffins. The two of them pack up their lives, much to Lexa's dismay and move to the Griffin Manor 4 hours away. Although she wasn't happy about the move at first, after she sets her sights on a beautiful blonde (guess who) it doesn't seem so bad after all. If only said blonde didn't have a boyfriend.Follow the story of Clarke and Lexa building a friendship that turns into a relationship and Lexa helping her figure out her sexuality.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First story I have ever written, I hope you enjoy!

Lexa will never understand why her mother decided it would be a good idea to uproot their lives and move to work at a manor an hour’s drive from the closest town. Ok, she understands but she doesn’t have to be happy about it. She knows her mum has worked multiple different jobs throughout her life, but this seems a bit unnecessary. She was happy with the way their lives were going after she finished high school and started studying nutrition through distance education. It gave her the freedom to choose her own hours, complete her work wherever she wanted and still squeeze in a casual job here and there.

That was before her mum told her that she was offered a housekeeping job by a highly recognized doctor visiting the hospital she worked part time at, and that they would be moving within the week. She was thankful for once in her life that she didn’t own a lot, it would have been hard trying to decide what to take that would fit in her mum’s old SUV. The rest of her possessions were sold off at a garage sale they had a couple of days before leaving, which at least gave her a bit of cash to call her own before finding work, if she ever got the opportunity to borrow her mums car and drive from the Manor to Polis, the nearest town. She really needed to convince her mum to let her buy her own car.

That is how she currently finds herself sitting in the passenger’s seat of her mum’s car, speeding down the long, barren highway towards their new, home? Lexa isn’t sure if she can even call it that since technically they will be staying on someone else’s land. She just prays that she at least has her own room or area that she can escape to think and work on her assignments. Flicking through the radio, none of the stations are playing anything worth listening to and she can’t stand listening to people babble through the speakers, so she pulls out her phone and tries to get lost in her social media accounts. She’s been texting her best friend, Anya since they left their old house behind, trying to get reassurances that she isn’t going to end up on the evening news as a murder victim. 

2:26 PM Lexa – All I’m saying is that if you don’t hear from me in the next 24 hours, please come looking for me.  
2:27 PM Anya – Stop being overdramatic, you literally have no chill. I don’t see what difference you living there is going to make anyway. You’ll just be holed up in your room there rather than your room back home.  
2:27 PM Lexa – Have we met? You know being dramatic is my life. Plus, it’s going to be awkward living with people I don’t know and even harder to escape my mum when she’s being annoying.  
2:28 PM Anya – Aren’t you moving to a manor with unlimited places to escape everyone? I bet you’ll like it more than you know.  
2:28 PM Anya – Plus, when it gets boring Polis is only an hour away, so you can blow off your responsibilities and find some pretty girl to occupy your time.  
2:28 PM Anya – Speaking of pretty girls, Raven just turned up so I’m officially blowing you off.  
2:29 PM Lexa – Really Anya? This could be the last time you hear from me. If I die than you’re not having any of my stuff.  
2:31 PM Anya – Haha, yeah right. Text me when you get settled, make new friends, don’t do anything I wouldn’t! *Kiss face emoji*  
2:32 PM Lexa – Whatever, say hi to Raven for me *middle finger emoji*  
They have almost past Polis after driving for 3 hours before her mum’s phone starts to ring through the car speakers. “hello, Indra speaking” her mum answers in a much too chipper voice considering how long they have been on the road.

“Hi Indra, it’s Abigail Griffin, I thought I’d better check how the drive was going since I’m just about to start work, I won’t be home when you arrive, but my husband Jake will be there to show you around, along with our daughter, Clarke”. Her voice was loud through the speakers, obviously trying to fight the distracting noises coming through from the busy hospital at her end of the phone. My first thought was ‘who names their daughter Clarke? I wonder if she is as butch as her name’. 

“The drive has gone quick surprisingly, no thanks to my quiet daughter over here glued to her phone. We have just past Polis so will be there within the hour. Is there anything you need me to do once we arrive?” 

Some low voices could be heard from the other end of the phone before Abigail spoke again “Sorry, work starts as soon as I set foot through the door here apparently. No, definitely nothing for you to do today apart from unpack and set yourself up. Feel free to wander around the manor and use the pool if you’d like. As far as teenage daughters go, I know what you mean. You probably won’t see Clarke unless she’s using the pool or painting on the balcony.” Abigail laughed, and Lexa couldn’t resist the urge to groan and roll her eyes, earning a playful slap on the arm from her mother. 

“Thank you, Abigail, I look forward to meeting your family and thank you again for this opportunity.” 

“Please, call me Abby from now on. My shift will finish early into the morning tomorrow, so I probably won’t see you until some time in the afternoon. If you have any questions, Jake will be more than happy to help. I have to go now, enjoy the rest of your drive.” Abby rushes through the last part of her sentence. 

“Ok, bye Abby.” Mum says before hitting the end call button on the steering wheel. 

The rest of the drive was relatively quiet aside from mum singing along with the radio, refusing to stop even though I insisted that she sounds like a dying cat. She probably would have stopped earlier if I hadn’t been so insistent on her doing so, but I can’t help myself. After veering off the highway the road became much thinner and we were eventually enveloped in lush green surrounded by massive trees that blanketed us in minor darkness and gave a late afternoon illusion. I probably would have enjoyed the atmosphere a bit more if I wasn’t so salty about moving. If only I could have been one of those rich kids whose parents could afford to pay their rent in the city. Not that I can really complain too much, mum has always given me everything she could. Plus, I hate those kids anyway because most of the time they are entitled and don’t offer the world anything but their opinion that nobody wants to hear. 

We drive for another 20 minutes before coming up alongside a large brick fence covered in hedges that leads to a massive gate covered with overgrown vines. Thankfully, a large piece of weathered stone off to the side of the gate was etched with ‘Griffin Manor’ so we knew we were in the right place. Mum put on the parking break and got out of the car to press the buzzer, speaking to an unknown person on the receiving end and a few moments later, both gates opened. She got back into the car, squeezed my hand and looked at me with a wide smile on her face. “Ready?” she asked. “As I’ll ever be” I offer her a small smile, happy to see her looking hopeful in a way I haven’t seen for some time. As if I would ever be able to say anything else to that. 

Nobody could deny how beautiful the manor was. The plants were overgrown in some areas, but I thought it added to the charm. As we neared the end of the gravel driveway towards the large, newly painted, white, two story house with a balcony wrapped around the entire top level, my sites were set to something, or should I say somebody, more beautiful than the gardens or the house combined. Even from a short distance I was enchanted by her blonde, curly hair that fell below her shoulders, her perfectly curvy body that was clinging to light blue jeans and a band t-shirt, and a face that would give Helen of Troy a run for her money. I was so entranced by her that I didn’t notice the boy standing next to her combing a side of his shaggy hair away from his face before leaning in to hiss her and wrap his grubby arm around her waist. Of coarse he probably isn’t grubby in truth, but as Anya tells me, I’m ‘overdramatic’ and she looks way too good for him, or anyone really. 

If this is in fact Clarke, then my initial judgment couldn’t have been further from the truth. Good job Lexa, become infatuated with some girl you’ve never met who is obviously straight, with a grubby boyfriend, that you are going to be basically living with. Mum sends me a knowing look before pulling up beside the house next to an expensive looking Audi. “Be nice, if not for the sake of making a good first impression, then for me” mum says, lightly patting my knee and opening her car door to step out. It’s much cooler than I expected it to be when I got out of the car. The light breeze flicking across my old school jersey and black denim shorts. I barely had a chance to admire the weather or the smell of the flower garden surrounding the house before the front door of the house opened and a middle-aged man with blonde hair and great big smile approached us. 

“Hi, you must be Indra” the man said, extending his arm to offer mum a handshake. 

“Yes, and you must be Abby’s husband, Jake” Indra shook his hand without hesitation. “This is my daughter Lexa” mum said pulling me around the shoulders and into the conversation. 

“Hi Lexa, it’s nice to meet you, you don’t look much older than Clarke. She just turned 18 this year, how old are you?” He asked with a large genuine smile still plastered to his face. 

“Just turned 19” I almost whispered, trying to muster up a smile and seem interested in the conversation while all I really want to do is stare at the gorgeous blonde still animatedly talking to her boyfriend. 

“Clarke! get over here and meet our new housekeeper and her daughter” Jake said, breaking the blonde out of her conversation. She quickly pecked her boyfriend on the cheek and squeezed his hand goodbye before walking over towards us. With each step she took towards us, my heart started beating a little faster. Too bad Abby isn’t here in case I go into cardiac arrest. Anya would have a field day if she could see me right now. She came up beside Jake and offered her hand to my mother just has her father did previously. Just as she was opening her mouth to speak, and I was finally going to hear her voice, the loud roar of a car engine cut her off and startled everyone. I’ll scold myself later for how much it made me jump. I swear I saw blue eyes glance over to me for a second before a small, amused smile graced her lips and turn back towards the distraction. What was that mum said about making first impressions? Great, she probably thinks I’m a skittish idiot. But I would gladly make a fool of myself again if it made her smile... Get yourself together Lexa, you don’t even know her. 

Jake seemed as unimpressed as the rest of us at her boyfriend’s annoying distraction and cloud of dirt making its way towards us from the back of his Audi. At least he is leaving, hopefully he doesn’t grace us with his presence for a while. “Sorry about Finn, his parents just bought him a new car and he takes any opportunity he can to show it off” the blonde said.  
“Well he better not drive like that with you in the car if he knows what’s good for him” Jake glared in the direction that the car took off in. 

“Sorry about that, I’m Clarke” she introduced, extending her hand back towards my mother. 

“Nice to meet you Clarke, I’m Indra Woods, and this is my daughter, Lexa” mum motioned towards me. 

The moment she turned towards me I knew nothing intelligent was going to come out of my mouth, but if I can manage actual words then I’ll count that as a win. Her eyes are the most magnificent shade of blue I have ever seen, and I used to live near one of the top beaches in the country. She also has a small mole just above her lip that I wouldn’t mind worshipping with my own lips. Stop looking at her lips Lexa. “Hi Lexa, I haven’t heard that name before, is that short for something?” she enquired.

“Um, it’s uh” I croaked. Words, Lexa, use your words. 

“Alexandria” my mum cut in with a chuckle. I could feel the heat crawling up my neck and covering my face and I’m sure by now that I’ve probably turned a nice shade of crimson. “Sorry, it’s been a bit of a long drive” I finally manage to croak out. 

“No worries” Clarke says with a radiant smile. 

“How about you show them where they are staying so they can get settled in Clarke? I would take you myself, but unfortunately I have a phone call to make for work.” Jake looked to his daughter after looking at his watch and Clarke nodded.

“Indra, Lexa, it was nice to meet you and I hope you make yourself at home in the guest house. If there is anything you need be sure to let us know, and since you probably don’t have any groceries just yet, I would be honoured if you would join us for dinner” Jake motioned his thumb towards the large house.  
“That would be lovely, thank you Jake” mum replied with a gracious nod of her head. 

“It’s settled, feel free to come up to the house whenever you’d like. We usually eat dinner around 7pm” Jake said before turning on his heel and heading back up to the Griffin house. 

“Do you need some help with your bags before I show you to the guest house” Clarke asked, looking at my mother. 

“No thank you dear, Lexa and I can manage our things. Just give us a couple of minutes to grab some essentials from the car and you can lead the way”. 

Mum clicked the lock on the keys and we shuffled through the boot, handing each other things that we will need for the first night. I swear from the corner of my eye I can see Clarke staring at me, so I turn my body slightly and drop a bag on the ground as an excuse to meet her gaze. She is biting her lip and her eyes are definitely glued to my ass. I have never been more thankful for my exercise routine. I’m unquestionably doing double the number of squats tonight if I can elicit this kind of response from such a goddess. Maybe she isn’t as straight as I originally though. If only she didn’t have that grubby boyfriend. Not that I have the courage to talk to her anyway, I couldn’t even speak enough to tell her my name.

Once she notices that she has been caught, her head shoots down and she starts kicking some of the gravel beneath her red converses. I took everything I needed from the car and more, eager to show off to the girl as much as I could. Mum is probably going to tease me about it later, but after I caught Clarke staring I can’t help myself. I can only hope that the walk isn’t too far, or I might end up embarrassing myself with the number of bags I’m carrying. It’s just like lugging every one of the grocery bags from the car to the house so you don’t have to make two trips Lexa, you can do this. Show her how well you could take her groceries inside. Even you realise how ridiculous you are, but you can’t seem to stop yourself. 

After mum grabs her stuff and shuts the car, Clarke starts leading us down the side of their house past the flower gardens and the gravel path turns to pavers. She turns back to look at us every now and again, looking worriedly at me like she expects me to drop my bags at any second. It’s probably a good thing that she keeps turning around, otherwise I would have an uninterrupted view of her glorious behind and probably end up tripping and falling flat on my face. Once we are starting to get further away from the house we come to what seems to be the beginning of a forest walk. Pavers end and are replaced with an incline of small wooden stairs with rows of large trees on both sides of the path making it secluded. Why on earth did I grab so many bags, who knew I would be trekking today. I almost consider dumping some of them behind a tree and coming back for them later when Clarke turns her attention back to us. Mum seems to be in awe of the surrounds, but all I can focus on is Clarke. 

“It’s not too much further now, less than a minute I promise” Clarke smiles.

“No worries dear, I appreciate you showing us where to go” mum replied. 

Thankfully, she wasn’t lying about the distance because soon enough we reached the end of the pathway and came across a small cottage style house. I’m pleasantly surprised that it seems even bigger than the apartment we moved from. 

“the front door doesn’t have a lock, there isn’t really any need for it here since the manor is gated” Clarke turned the knob and pushed the door open wide enough for us to walk through easily with our luggage.

When we entered the house, it lead straight into a spacious furnished living room with a decent sized kitchen off to the left and another hallway to the right that must lead to the bedrooms. Behind the kitchen and living room were huge glass sliding doors that looked out into the green forest surrounding the house and filled the room with natural light. Outside there is also a small undercover patio area with comfortable looking lounges and a large coffee table.

“You can put your stuff down near the TV while I give you a quick tour if you’d like” Clarke suggested to us both, holding my eye contact for slightly longer than normal. 

“Sure, that would be great thank you. So long as it wont inconvenience you” mum replied. 

“Nonsense, there isn’t much to do around here anyway so I’m more than happy to” Clarke started leading us towards the hallway off the living room. 

There were only two doors, one on either end of the large hallway, so I instantly feared that the bathroom was going to be some horrible outhouse with freezing cold water like the ones you would be forced to use on school trips. We walked down the hall towards the room at the back of the house and my fears disappeared as soon as we stepped inside the room. 

All I could do while I scanned the room is question why I put up so much of a fight moving. The large, soft carpeted room with an equally soft looking queen bed was way better than the image I first thought I was moving into. To the right of the room when you walk in was an impressive bathroom and a large walk in wardrobe. No showering in the awkward camp style bathrooms for me, thank god. Mum looked just as impressed as me, and in that moment I would have called shotgun on the room if I wasn’t worried that I would look childish in front of Clarke. Clarke must have read my mind with the next sentence that left her mouth. “The other room is almost identical to this one but it’s only slightly smaller and has a bath tub as well as a shower. There are also less windows making it a bit darker”. 

“Shotgun!” the words actually leave my mouth before I can talk myself out of it again. 

Hopefully mum didn’t fight me on it or this could turn into a very awkward scene. But I really wanted that bath tub. It seemed to have impressed Clarke in some way though because a couple of seconds later she started laughing and my breath caught in my chest hearing that husky, angelic laugh. 

“It’s all yours Lexa, I probably wouldn’t use the tub anyway. Too much hassle.” mum chuckled, thankfully ignoring my childish manners. “Do you mind showing Lexa to her room Clarke? so I can start setting up my things in here”. 

I panic slightly realising that this is going to be the first time I am alone with Clarke and I’ll probably need to get my shit together and actually speak to her before she completely writes me off. “Yeah, no problem I’ll see you tonight for dinner Mrs Woods. If you need anything before that just come up to the house”. Clarke said to my mother. 

“Thank you again Clarke, you didn’t have to do all of this, and please call me Indra”. 

“Your welcome Indra. Come on Lexa, your room is down the other end of the hall” Clarke’s ocean blue eyes locked with mine again for a moment before she turned around and headed out the door.

Following Clarke down the end of the hall turned into a mission, I didn’t know where to keep my eyes. First, they landed on the generous curves of her hips and trailed down the back of her jeans that her body hugged perfectly. Then I focused on her long, blonde locks that were moving slightly as she walked, looking so soft and I wish I could run my fingers through them. Before I realized how far down the hallway we were I ran into something and was brought out of my daydream. My daydream soon turned into an embarrassing nightmare when I realised not what I ran into, but who. Fully colliding with Clarke and almost knocking her over, I grabbed a hold of her midsection to stop her from stumbling forward. 

“Crap! I’m so sorry Clarke, I swear I must still be half asleep”. No way in hell was I going to tell her the real reason I ran into her was that I was too busy checking her out. 

“Don’t worry about it” she laughed. “I can be a bit of a zombie too when I’m tired” her hand landing softly on my arm that was still curled around her waist. 

I spent more time than I probably should have with my arm around her, but it felt so good almost hugging her. I was more surprised that she didn’t seem to pull away either. But from what I know about her so far, she seems too polite and probably didn’t want to embarrass me further. Clearing my throat, I removed my arm that was probably 10 times hotter than it was before I touched her, I moved beside her and looked around the room. It was a lot like the first room, but I preferred the darkness that this one provided. Clarke seemed momentarily dazed before she moved around the room towards the bathroom. 

“There is the bathtub that you stole from your mother” she laughed a bit awkwardly. “It can take a little while to heat up so you might need to run it for a couple of minutes before the water is warm enough”. 

“How old is this place? It seems much newer than the main house” I asked, surprising myself with genuine conversation. 

“We had it built a couple of years ago to live in while we were remodelling the house. This was actually my room originally. I fought my parents to put that bath tub for me, so your welcome by the way” she smiled over at me.  
Now I am never going to be able to bath in here without thinking about the fact that Clarke’s naked body has already been inside the tub. 

“Well thank you, it definitely looks inviting”. 

Silence took over for another minute before Clarke broke it. “Well, I better let you get settled in so you can put some of your stuff away” She said as she started walking towards the door. “Actually, I’ll give you my phone number just in case you have any questions and you don’t want to walk up to the house. Even though this place is a fair way away from the city it does at least have decent cell service, thank god.”

I stood there in silence for a moment, shocked that Clarke was giving me her phone number and didn’t realise that she was waiting for something. “If you have your phone on you I can put my number in if you’d like. I know we only just met so you totally don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought it might be easier.” She was babbling, clearly nervous and waiting for me to say or do something. 

“Yeah, sure sorry. That would probably be for the best since we don’t know our way around the house and all. I’m sure mum might have some questions for you.” 

I doubt mum would have anything to ask, but I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity for further communication with Clarke, so I reached into my back pocket for my phone and handed it over to her. I could tell by the smile on her face that she appreciated the cute racoon I had as my background picture, but she didn’t say anything about it while she put her details into my phone. 

“Here you go” she handed the phone back to me. “I guess I’ll see you a bit later on for dinner. Do you have any food requests that you want me to pass onto the chef?”

It made me wonder if they actually do have a chef in that big fancy house of theirs or if she was kidding. They probably have enough money for a chef so I wouldn’t be surprised. “Oh. I’m not very picky, and neither is mum, so we will be happy with whatever.”

“Hmm, you look like a pizza kind of girl. Are my suspicions correct?” she inquired, her mouth curling up into a larger smile than the one she has had since walking into my new room. 

“Who doesn’t love pizza. I don’t think I could be friends with anyone who didn’t” I laughed. That seemed to be a good thing to say because Clarke beamed.  
“Pizza it is, have a good afternoon Lexa. Text me if you need anything.” She lightly squeezed my arm before heading out of the room, back down the hallway and closing the front door behind her. 

I couldn’t believe this day that I was originally dreading and had me internally kicking and screaming, turned out like this. Meeting the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on and moving into a house that far succeed my expectations. I have to rub it in Anya’s face. What is the point of having an annoying best friend otherwise?

Shapchat from CommanderWoods – Check out my new digs! *3 pictures attached*  
Snapchat from AnyaForester – Whoa! What the hell were you even stressing about? Are you sure that’s not the room you are supposed to be cleaning right now?  
Shapchat from CommanderWoods – You wish, it’s all mine. I don’t think I’ll ever be ok sharing a bathroom again!  
Snapchat from AnyaForester – Raven said you better find a sugar Mumma then, haha! How is everything else? Clearly you’re not dead if your sending snaps.  
Shapchat from CommanderWoods – You can go ahead and say you told me so, it’s actually amazing here. You’ll definitely have to come and visit, they even have a pool apparently.  
Snapchat from AnyaForester – You have me sold. Plus I’ll be missing Mumma Woods soon anyways.  
Shapchat from CommanderWoods – I see how it is *Sniff* don’t even want to come and see me.  
Snapchat from AnyaForester – Nope. Now stop being a drama queen, I’m sure you have heaps of unpacking to do and I’m getting the stink eye from a bunch of strangers for using my phone in the movie cinema. Send me lots of pictures, Raven says bye!

Unpacking is not at the forefront of my mind right now. Anya’s messages only distracting me momentarily before my mind drifted back to Clarke. I have to keep reminding myself that I’ll see her at dinner otherwise I’ll do nothing productive this afternoon. The next few couple of hours pass quickly once I start putting my small amount of things away and getting ready for dinner. 

Freshly showered, I change into a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a red flannel shirt before meeting mum in the living room. “Lets go” mum said, opening the front door and closing it behind us both. My nerves set in as we start walking down the wooden stairs with large solar lights on either side that I didn’t notice on our way up. Too distracted for the same reason I am nervous now. Clarke. Hopefully dinner goes well and I don’t make a fool of myself again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 from Clarke's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter and left comments & kudos! I hope you enjoy the second chapter. I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Clarke had to stop for a moment outside the front of the new Woods residence. She didn't want to leave the breathtaking brunette, she wanted to learn everything about her. Never in her life has she felt such a pull to another person, especially one she just met. Her midsection and back still felt warm from where Lexa collided with her a few minutes ago. But alas, she couldn't just stand there and stare at her, as much as she really wanted to.

 

She needed to go down to the garden and pick ingredients to start preparing for the pizza she basically volunteered to make everyone. Her making Lexa something nice for dinner has got nothing to do with the fluttering feeling she has around the brunette. Not at all. Being polite and accommodating has always been part of who she is, and she just wants Lexa and Indra to feel at home here. Plus, it might be nice having a friend that doesn't live at least an hour away. It's been weeks since she's seen her best friend, Octavia, but thankfully she will see her again next weekend at Lincoln's birthday party.

 

She is still mentally kicking herself for mentioning a chef while talking to Lexa about dinner. Lexa probably thinks she’s some rich entitled kid and can’t do anything for herself. This has to be the best damn dinner she’s ever made. Lost in her thoughts, Clarke walks down the wooden stairs and takes a left towards the vegetable garden that is situated behind the house. Stopping for a second, she takes in the beauty of the large back yard that is eventually cut off by rows and rows of trees. She grabs one of the straw baskets and some shears from the greenhouse opposite the garden before picking peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, garlic, herbs, potatoes and a few other things for dinner. Since she doesn't know what Lexa and Indra prefer eating, she figured that making a few different types of pizzas and some handmade chips would be the best option. After picking everything she needs, Clarke makes her way past the garden to the back patio and through the large ceiling to floor glass doors at the back entrance of their home.

 

“Hungry?” Jakes voice startles Clarke from the small living room inside the door. She almost completely drops the basket of food, losing a couple of potatoes that fall onto the polished wooden floors.

 

“Do you have to scare me like that! I swear you make it your mission and take every chance you get to give me a heart attack.” Her hand flies up to her chest and clutches her erratic beating heart.

 

She’s too proud to stick around while he teases her further, so she leans down to grab the potatoes and stomps off towards the kitchen. But Jake has never been one to let things go easily, so of course he follows her. Never missing a chance to embarrass his only child. It’s his job as her father and he takes it very seriously. “Did you invite Finn for dinner?” Jake asks, unimpressed and not even trying to hide it. He is watching Clarke carefully unpack the basket and spread the ingredients over the dark granite benchtop while he takes a seat on a barstool on the opposite side of her.

 

“What? No, I didn’t invite Finn, I just saw him before! Why would you think that?” she angrily huffs while pacing through the kitchen, grabbing chopping boards, knives, flour and other prep materials.

 

“If I’m not mistaken, those are your classic pizza ingredients, and I’m definitely not mistaken when I say that you never make that unless it’s someone’s birthday and they beg you weeks in advance. Especially, when you have such an important project coming up” He eyes her curiously.

 

“Yeah well, I thought it would be nice to do since Mrs Woods and Lexa are coming to dinner. Did you think you would just invite them over for dinner and feed them sandwiches or something?”. Feeling Lexa’s name roll off her tongue caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach and she did her best to hide her reaction from her dad. What was so special about Lexa, she hasn’t felt anything more than platonic for another girl since..

 

“Hmm” Jake cut off her thoughts. “Can’t say I remember you being so nice to our last house keeper, and she lived here for years” The look in Jake’s eyes were nothing more than curious as he watched her work around the kitchen.

 

“I think we can all agree that Mrs Sydney was a bitch. I for one am glad that it’s no longer necessary to clean up before she does. As soon as she saw a speck of dust she would look at us like pigs. What was she even employed to do!” Clarkes annoyance at her dad was getting more and more obvious by the second. Jake would leave her to her own devices if he knew what was good for him. An angry Clarke Griffin was a force to be reckoned with. Everyone who knows her will tell you that if you make her mad enough, she can ignore you so well that you question even your own existence.

 

“Well, this is my cue to leave. Whatever your motives are just make sure you put some food aside for your mother. If she found out you made pizza and didn’t save her any, she’d probably tell you to pack your bags.” Jake just barely managed to dodge the flying potato that was thrown at him before he ran out of the kitchen. Clarke could still hear him laughing down the hallway and had half a mind to chase after him with another potato, but she knew she needed to start dinner to have it ready for when Lexa arrived. Lexa and Indra, she had to remind herself.

 

*******************************************************************************************************************************

 

It took a good hour of forceful chopping and kneading pizza dough before she calmed down. If she didn’t already have a lot of experience in the kitchen, she probably would have cut herself. Now she was in her element, playing loud music and dancing around the kitchen. She probably wouldn’t have noticed the notification on her phone if it didn’t buzz through her portable speaker. It’s a picture from Octavia, sent through Snapchat of her and Bellamy in what appeared to be a heated game of Monopoly.

 

She knew better than to ever do anything competitive with the Blake siblings. It always ended up as a pissing match between the two of them and everyone else was forgotten.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – *Picture attachment* Kicking Bells ass at Monopoly!

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – You do know that it still counts as a win if you don’t have any witnesses, O.

 

Clarke had to wipe the flour off her phone that she didn’t realise she still had on her hands before replying to the next snap. She hoped Octavia saved the picture of Bellamy slumped over the monopoly board with a ridiculous filter on. It would come in handy for blackmail.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Why would I not want to share his defeat! The world deserves to know that my big brother can’t hold his own against his little sister. Spread the word!

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Apart from physical appearance, there is nothing little about you Octavia.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Pfft, have you seen my guns? Small physical appearance be dammed I still beat Bell half the time at arm wrestling.

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Yeah, yeah. How about you just stick to one game at a time? Got to go, I’m making pizza. Take it easy on Bell.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Shit! Whose birthday did I forget! Why didn’t you remind me!

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Relax, it’s no one’s birthday. Our new housekeeper moved in and I volunteered to make pizza.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – So Finns going to be at dinner too then? Must be getting serious if your cooking for him!

 

Clarke could feel her earlier irritation coming back to her at the mention of cooking for Finn. Can’t she do something nice without her motives being questioned.

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – No! I’m just being nice. You’re as bad as my dad!

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Being compared to Jake is not an insult you know. Make sure you get your new house keepers autograph for me! Must be someone special.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Ooh, better yet is it a hot guy? Send me a sneaky pic.

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Oh my god can you stop it! She’s a middle aged lady but she seems really nice. I’m not explaining myself further. I hope Bell kicks your ass.

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Rude! But I know better than to argue with you. I rather enjoy our conversations even if you don’t!

 

**Shapchat from SuperiorBlake** – Have a good night with the queen!

 

Clarke forcefully drops her phone back onto the counter, but not hard enough to break it and continues making dinner. The rest of the afternoon goes by quickly with no more disruptions and before she knows it, she is putting the pizza’s in the oven and getting ready to cook the chips. Glancing over at her phone she checks the time and actually swears out loud when she realises how late it is. She needs to get changed out of her flour coated clothes before Lexa arrives for dinner.

 

Moving swiftly out of the kitchen, she fast walks down the hallway that divides the kitchen from the front of the house where the dining room, large living area, study, spare bathroom and staircase to the upstairs floor is. Luck just doesn’t seem to be on her side tonight because just as she puts her foot on the first step of the staircase, there is a knock at the front door. She hesitates for a second and even entertains the thought of ignoring the door and hoping her father will hear it and let the guests in, but she knows that would be incredibly rude.

 

With a huff she tries to pat down her jeans and shirt as best she can before approaching the front door and opening it. Her breath gets stuck in her throat momentarily when she sets her sites on Lexa in her red flannel shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. Lexa is smiling politely at her and for a second, it’s just the two of them locking eyes with each other. Clarke almost forgets that Indra is there too before she speaks and is brought out of her daydream of running her hands up Lexa’s toned thighs.

 

“Good evening Clarke, I hope we aren’t too early. I feel rude for not having anything to offer our hosts, so I apologize for arriving empty handed."

 

“Of course not” Clarke extents her arm into the house and fully opens the door to welcome Indra and Lexa inside. “We don’t expect you to bring anything anyway.”

 

Clarke starts leading them both into the living room before speaking again. Lexa makes her feel nervous in a way that no one has ever accomplished before so the silence is slightly awkward.

 

“Have a seat and make yourself at home” She gestures to the couches. “I’m not too sure where dad is but he probably heard you arrive and I’m sure he will be down soon.”

 

She notices Lexa trying to avoid eye contact with her while her and Indra sit down on one of the couches. She really hopes she didn’t do something to make her dislike her. Thinking back, it was probably foolish to give Lexa her phone number before they even knew each other for an hour. Lexa seems shy, so she probably isn’t comfortable with people being so forward with her. Clarke deflates a bit at this but she doesn’t want to draw any attention to that fact so she decides to start a conversation with Indra in the hopes that Lexa will join in.

 

“So, how are you liking the old Griffin house?” Clarke looked over to Indra and sat down on the couch opposite them. Indra laughed, and Lexa glanced up at her for a second before darting her eyes around the living room. Seemingly taking in the surroundings.

 

“Well I definitely wouldn’t call it old, that’s for sure. But it’s very lovely, the nicest place we have called home so far. Lexa mentioned to me that it was built while you were renovating this house, which is amazing by the way, the contractors certainly knew what they were doing.”

 

Clarke isn’t sure why she was surprised that Lexa shared that information with Indra, but she was glad that she was somehow brought up in the conversation between mother and daughter. If Lexa didn’t like her, she probably would have avoided talking about her at all. It’s probably wishful thinking by the way she is still actively trying to avoid her, but a girl can hope. Jake chose that moment to come into the living room and Clarke could almost forgive him for teasing her earlier. Almost.

 

“Indra, Lexa, nice to see you again. I hope you settled in ok."

 

“We did, thank you Jake. We were just telling Clarke how much we like it and how beautiful this house is.”

 

Indra and Clarke both looked over to Jake, but Clarke was still only half invested in the conversation. The other half was taking notice of how Lexa was now looking at her since everyone else was too interested in her father.

 

“Well, be sure to tell Abby that. She put a lot of time and effort into the planning. It stressed her out so much that you wouldn’t dare trying to put your two cents in once she had her mind set on how she wanted something. Isn’t that right Clarke?”

 

Clarke was no longer paying attention to the conversation between her father and Indra. She was too busy trying to take notice of Lexa on the couch across from her, picking at the non-existent lint on her jeans and occasionally looking at Clarke. Crap, she’s been sprung. What was it that they were talking about before? Right. The house.

 

“Yes, for sure. We love how it turned out though.” Clarke wasn’t sure which house they were talking about at that point in time but figured that her answer would cover both. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to notice, and Clarke almost instantly zoned out again. Jake and Indra were happy to continue talking without any further input and Clarke and Lexa would share the occasional shy glance in each other’s direction. After another couple of minutes had passed, Clarke remembered that she was cooking dinner and she’d better go check on the pizza’s before they burnt and then they would be reduced to having sandwiches for dinner.

 

“I better go finish up dinner, I’m sure you guys are probably hungry.”

 

Jake rubbed his hands over his belly and looked over at Clarke. “You are all in for a treat tonight. Clarke never makes her special pizza unless it’s someone’s birthday, and I for one am starving.”

 

Clarke glanced over at Lexa once more and noticed the girl looked a little bit guilty. Now she has probably ruined her chance at friendship even more. She’s obviously made her feel bad, but in all honesty, Clarke would have wanted to make her something special regardless of their earlier conversation. There is just something about Lexa that makes her want to go above and beyond to impress her.

 

“Lexa” Indra spoke. “Why don’t you go give Clarke a hand and help set the table?” Lexa glared at her mother for a moment before awkwardly standing up, and Clarke’s heart sank. Clearly Lexa didn’t want to be alone with her and Clarke didn’t want her to feel awkward.

 

“Oh, I have actually already set the table, and everything is under control.” She lied. Now she is going to have to set the table as well as finish off dinner. Lucky the dining room can’t be seen from the living area or they would have known, and she would have had no choice but to accept Lexa’s unwanted help.

 

“Just relax in here for a bit, I’ll call out when everything is ready.” Clarke went back to the kitchen in a mad rush and started pulling out plates, cups and cutlery to quickly set the table before anyone noticed. Once she finished with the table, she started pulling the pizzas out of the oven and put the chips in the fryer. Everything has to be perfect, she kept telling herself. So, she grabbed some of the wooden serving boards and started laying out the pizza, splitting up the different flavours over the boards so they were all easy accessible and adding a herb and cheese garnish to the top.

 

A feeling of accomplishment ran over her when she took in the food in front of her. It looked fantastic and she was growing hungry herself just looking at it. She quickly took the pizzas into the dining room and set them up on the table before going back to the kitchen to finish off the chips and setting them beside the pizzas. Before she had a chance to call everyone into the dining room, her phone vibrated with a new notification.

 

**Shapchat from Wish_u_were_a_Collins** – Hey Babe, what are you up to right now?

 

Clarke didn’t really feel up to a conversation with Finn since she already spoke with him today. But she knew if she didn’t reply he would probably end up trying to call her constantly.

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Hey Finn, I’m a bit busy right now. Our new housekeeper and her daughter are here for dinner and we are just about to start. I’ll message you after?

 

**Shapchat from Wish_u_were_a_Collins** – I can’t wait until then, I need you right now. Can’t you blow them off and say you’re sick or something?

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – You can wait a bit, what’s the rush?

 

**Shapchat from Wish_u_were_a_Collins** – *Picture attachment*

 

The phone almost fell out of Clarkes hands when she opened the picture of Finns excited, yet still small penis. She should have seen where this conversation was going but was too busy getting drinks out of the fridge to add to the table. Instead of getting turned on like most people would from getting a picture of their significant others genitals, she was annoyed. She had dinner to serve and had no time to stroke Finn’s ego.

 

**Shapchat from CGriffin** – Babe I’m sorry but your going to have to take care of that on your own. I really have to go.

 

**Shapchat from Wish_u_were_a_Collins** – Can’t you just send me a picture or something? Go to the bathroom real quick.

 

Clarke put her phone back into her pocket and decided to ignore Finn’s request. She walked back into the living room and found her dad had taken her previous spot on the couch and was now having a conversation with Lexa. Indra still sitting next to her daughter and politely nodding along to their words. She didn’t really care much about the conversation at this point in time though. Her eyes were glued to the way the left side of Lexa’s pillowy lips would occasionally turn up into a small smile when her father said something that interested her. She really is the most stunning girl Clarke has ever seen.

 

“Dinner is ready” Clarke announced with her hand on her pocket, pressing the side key on her phone to ignore Finns phone calls. All four of them made their way into the dining room, Clarke up the front leading them, Lexa following timidly at the back and their parent’s still talking in between them. Who knows what they are even talking about before. Clarke is a flurry of emotions and can barely focus on anything. Torn between her annoyance at Finn and her infatuation with Lexa. She’s on a rollercoaster that she never realized she even got on. And boy does she hate rollercoasters.

 

“This looks amazing Clarke, you’ve really outdone yourself” Jake walked around the table eyeing off the food before taking his seat at the head of the table.

 

Indra sat in the seat next to him on the right with Lexa taking up the seat beside her, and Clarke sat next to his left. Clarke couldn’t help but feel proud of herself when she took in the awed look on everyone’s faces. Especially Lexa, who was looking from one plate to the next with wide, eager eyes. She almost wishes she was a slice of pizza right now and Lexa was looking at her.

 

“You really didn’t have to go to all of this trouble Clarke, Lexa and I eat just about anything. But thank you” Indra praised.

 

“It was no problem, really. I love cooking.” Clarke nodded at Indra.

 

Clarke was just about to tell everyone to help themselves when Indra shoved her elbow into Lexa’s side and glared at her. “Thanks for dinner, Clarke. It looks much better than the store bought pizza.” Lexa shyly smiled at Clarke while locking eyes with her for a few seconds, catching Clarke off guard. Clarke returned Lexa’s smile and her stomach fluttered.

 

“Dig in everyone, before it gets cold.” Jake was the first to eagerly start dishing food onto his plate, Indra and Lexa not too far behind. Jake and Indra easily picked up on their earlier conversation between mouthfuls of food which left Lexa and Clarke to their own devices. From the look on both of their faces, they wanted to talk but didn’t know how to start the conversation. Clarke decided to bite the bullet, taking Lexa’s occasional glances in her direction as invitation enough.

 

“So, Lexa” Lexa’s face shot up from her plate to once again lock eyes with Clarke, clearly not expecting her to engage in conversation so soon. Clarke would look at her enchanting green eyes every second of every day if allowed the chance.

 

“Are you studying anything since leaving school?” “Um, yes actually” Lexa held her hand up over her mouth, so her food didn’t go flying out of her mouth. “I started studying nutrition just after I left school. I’m about a year into it now and have another couple of years to go still.”

 

“Nutrition, that’s interesting. What made you want to do that if you don’t mind me asking?” Clarke put down her food completely, wanting to give Lexa her undivided attention.

 

“I have always been into health and fitness. My second option was personal training, but I don’t think I have the right personality for that, so I decided to focus on the food aspect.”

 

“And here I am, serving you pizza.” Clarke chuckled.

 

Lexa’s return laugh and bright smile would have made Clarke choke on her food for sure, so she’s glad she decided to put it down. “I don’t think anyone should give up pizza. So long as it’s not a daily occurrence.”

 

They both shared another smile before going back to eating their food. Indra and Jake were basically in a world of their own with their conversation. They had already eaten half of their dinner and were mindlessly grabbing food off their plates without even looking down. Clarke and Lexa clearly weren’t interested in joining it though. Almost every sentence contained something along the lines of “government, university, job opportunities, pensions” and neither wanted to pretend that they knew anything about it. Clarke was just about to start up another conversation with Lexa before her phone started going crazy again. She pulled it out of her pocket and scrolled through the long list of notifications all from Finn.

 

Snapchats, text messages and missed calls filled her phone. She was starting to get angry. Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone. Sure, they were dating but why didn’t he get the message that she was busy. Her life doesn’t revolve around him. She went through the text messages and call list to get rid of the notifications but didn’t open the snapchats. The last thing she needed was for him to know she had seen his messages and didn’t reply. Her lack of response still didn’t stop him from pestering her though. Every minute her phone would vibrate with another message or call from him. She could feel her face growing hot with anger.

 

**7:21 PM Clarke** – Finn, can you stop it! You know I’m busy. I told you I would text you later!

 

**7:21 PM Finn** – Why were you ignoring me? I’m supposed to be your boyfriend but you’re just ditching me for a dinner. You could have at least texted me.

 

**7:21 PM Clarke** – Seriously!? How long have we known each other?? Do you really think I would be ok with leaving dinner to sext with you? I have never done that. Your being ridiculous sending me a hundred messages, take a hint!

 

**7:22 PM Finn** – Sorry babe I was only playing. I thought you might like opening your phone and seeing messages from me.

 

Clarke had to stop herself from physically facepalming. But she didn’t want to attract the attention of the other people at the table and by the looks of it, Lexa was now on her phone too, probably trying to avoid looking around the table awkwardly.

 

**7:23 PM Clarke** – Well can you stop please? It’s really not funny and it’s making me angry.

 

**7:23 PM Finn** – Ok, ok. I really was just joking in the end there babe. Forgive me?

 

Clarke had enough of replying and didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of an apology. She was still angry though and didn’t want to take it out on anyone else at the table so she opened her Facebook app to try and look at something that would cheer her up. After a couple of minutes, she was starting to wind down when she received another text message. She was about to swear before she realized it wasn’t from Finn, but a number she doesn’t recognize.

 

**7:27 PM Unknown Number** – Hey. I’m sorry if this message is unwanted, but are you ok?

 

**7:27 PM Unknown Number** – P.s this pizza is the best I have had in my life.

 

Confused for a moment, Clarke looked up from her phone to across the table where Lexa was looking at her again. She knew that she could have easily opened her mouth to reply to Lexa, but she didn’t really want her father overhearing. He already didn’t like Finn enough and she didn’t feel like elaborating.

 

**7:28 PM Clarke** – Definitely not unwanted, I appreciate you asking. Sorry If I made dinner awkward. My boyfriend is just being a dick.

 

Clarke shot her eyes back up at Lexa without raising her head to see if she was going to reply. That same smile that she seemed to be able to coax out of Lexa was gracing her lips again and she found herself instantly calmer. She pulled her phone back out and added Lexa’s number to her phone before she responded again.

 

**7:29 PM Lexa** – It’s not awkward, its quite nice actually. I’m sorry that you have to deal with him being a dick.

 

Lexa looked back up at her again and just as Clarke was about to reply, they were interrupted by Jake. “Typical teenagers on their phones every second of the day.”

 

Jake picks up his and Indra’s plates and starts to make a pile of dirty dishes with Indra’s help. “I better go get a container of leftovers for Abby or we will all be in trouble.” Jake said before walking into the kitchen and returning a few moments later.

 

They all worked quietly and seamlessly to clear up the table and carry the dishes to the kitchen. Clarke started loading up the dishwasher with Lexa’s help. Their hands brushed once while they were both trying to put a plate into the same spot and they both dropped them simultaneously, thankfully not breaking anything. After that minor debacle they were both very careful in taking turns putting things in the dishwasher.10 minutes later everything was cleaned up and put away.

 

“Thank you again for dinner Jake and Clarke, we should be getting back now. I think Lexa and I are both going to have a good sleep tonight.”

 

“I can’t take any credit for that dinner. It was all Clarke. All I did was have a run in with a flying potato.”

 

Indra and Lexa seemed confused with Jake’s statement for a moment but put two and two together since Jake and Clarke were the only ones home.

 

“I hope both of you have a nice night. Indra, Abby won’t be up until after lunch but if you want to come by the house in the morning, I’ll give you the run-through.”

 

“Thank you, Jake, I will see you in the morning. Goodnight Clarke.”

 

“Good Night Indra, Night Lexa.” Clarke smiled at them both.

 

“Night.” Lexa directed at both of the Griffins before her and Indra left the house.

 

“Good job with again kiddo. I’m going to get some sleep, I have an early conference call in the morning.” Jake kissed Clarke on the forehead and started slowly walking up the stairs.

 

Clarke stool still in front of the door for a couple of minutes more. Even though she just met Lexa, every time she left she missed her being around. She put it down to Lexa being a nice person and not the fact that she was obviously smart and undeniably beautiful. Her thoughts were with the brunette while she mindlessly made her way up the stairs to her room, stripped off her clothes and stepped into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom.

 

She grabbed her phone and opened a couple of snapchats from Octavia which were just of her and Bellamy playing a heated game of Mario Cart. She really wanted to text Lexa back but what would she say? Plus Lexa is obviously tired after today so she might have went straight to bed anyway. Clarke was just about to close out of her Snapchat app when she noticed Lexa came up as a recommendation since she now had her contact details in her phone. Bravely, she hit the request to add Lexa to her snapchat friends before putting her phone down on the vanity and getting into the shower.

 

She didn’t spend to long in the shower as her eyes started getting heavy. Quickly soaping up, washing her face and brushing her teeth she got out of the shower and dried herself with her towel. After drying her body, she wrapped her blonde locks up in her towel and put on her pyjamas. Just as she was slipping into bed and turning the light off she noticed her phone light up with a snapchat notification.

 

She felt the same butterflies from earlier bloom in her stomach when she saw who sent it to her. Her hands trembled opening the picture that Lexa sent her.

 

**Shapchat from CommanderWoods** – *picture attached* Absolutely love this bathtub. I’m in heaven.

 

Clarke dropped her phone again. She really needed to invest in a better case. The picture was of Lexa’s bare legs from the knees down in her old bathtub. Why was it that such a simple picture from Lexa could cause a stronger reaction than Finn’s earlier picture, and it was just half her legs! Which were admittedly gorgeous and tanned like the rest of her.

 

Maybe her feelings are slightly more than friendly…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa is still awkward. Clarke and Lexa get to know each others lives a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Lexa's Point of View for this chapter.
> 
> I hope this chapter clears up some of the questions that people had. Enjoy!

Dim sunlight coming through cracks in the blinds woke Lexa up this morning. It was by far the best sleep she has had in a long time. Most likely a combination of the long day yesterday and falling into the most amazing bed known to man. Someone is going to need to order a forklift to get her out of it because she refuses to part with it anytime soon. She probably would have stayed in bed all day if she hadn't been drawn to the alluring smell of breakfast from the kitchen. Wait, breakfast? they don't have any groceries apart from some canned goods and bread. Definitely not the heavenly bacon she could smell. Hunger and curiosity gave her the willpower to drag herself out between the heavenly soft sheets and off the mattress that seemed to know her body better than she did. 

Her new bedroom really did keep most of the sunlight out, because as soon as she opened her door she had to squint her eyes and let them adjust to the daylight. She ran into the hallway a couple of times thinking that she must be coming up to the living room before she had the sense to press her hand up against it and feel for the cut off. Hopefully her mum didn't hear her less than graceful exit from her bedroom, but she would endure it for the bacon. 

"See, I told you the smell of breakfast would get her out of bed. Does the trick every time." Lexa wondered who her mother was talking to since they didn't own any animals and she didn't have the tendency to talk to herself. She only prayed that she managed to make friends with some forest critter and they didn't have human guests. But she never was too lucky though. Swaying blonde hair drew her eyes towards Clarke's form moving around the kitchen with her mother. Clarkes smiling face tilted up from the bench towards Lexa and her eyes stopped on the brunettes' legs for a long second before she coughed awkwardly, and her face immediately returned to the kitchen counter in front of her. 

She was confused at Clarkes reaction, but didn't have time to think about it before a voice cut through the silence. 

"Lexa" Indra sighed. "I'm sure we can both appreciate Clarke going out of her way to bring us breakfast. But did your stomach really distract you enough to forget to put some pants on?"

Oh. My. God. Was on repeat in Lexa's head while she quickly mumbled an apology and almost ran back to her room. She obviously hadn't planned on flashing both her mother and Clarke. Thank god she had underwear on, even if they are her blue and red superman underwear that looked like they were purchased from the toddler section. To make matters worse, she is also wearing a black t-shirt that ends around her navel, being way too short for her to wear as anything but pyjamas. If the day was any colder they probably would have noticed her lack of a bra also. 

Deciding she needed to do more than just put some pants on, Lexa stripped off her underwear and t-shirt before dressing for the day. She opted for a dark blue pair of shorts and a white V-neck, then sat on her bed trying to muster up the courage to go back out and face Clarke again. All she seems to do around the beautiful blonde is make a fool of herself. Her phone vibrated on her bedside table and startled her. Of coarse Anya would know the most inconvenient time to text her and make her feel more foolish than she already felt. But reaching for her phone, she realized the message wasn’t from Anya, it’s from Clarke. Lexa thought she had just got her heart back to a normal pace again before she saw the name flash up on her screen. 

[8:12 AM] Clarke – Please don’t feel like you have to hide in your room now. I’m sorry I didn’t message before I came, I just figured you guys would be hungry. 

[8:12 AM] Clarke – I think living out in the middle of nowhere makes me forget what normal etiquette is sometimes!

[8:13 AM] Lexa – Don’t worry about it, you just startled me is all. I swear I don’t walk around the house with no pants on. The smell of bacon just distracted me. 

[8:13 AM] Clarke – Haha it’s ok, it didn’t change my opinion of you. If it makes you feel any better, I dress the exact same way for bed. Minus the superman underwear, although on you they are pretty cute. 

Lexa didn’t want to think about how that new piece of information made her feel in the pits of her stomach. Not when her mother and Clarke were just down the hall. She had to rid the images of Clarke in her underwear before she went back out, otherwise her blush would surely let known how she was feeling. Later, she decided, she would let her mind come back to that. 

[8:15 AM] Lexa – Lucky I don’t have to judge you anymore. If you thought any less of my favourite underwear, we couldn’t be friends. 

She was feeling bold today but hoping that her playful banter didn’t come back and bite her in the ass. It’s been a while since she’s had sex which is probably why she has a bit more courage to make an effort. Not that Clarke thinks of her that way, she has a boyfriend and probably doesn’t even like girls. It doesn’t stop Lexa from dreaming though. How could she when Clarke is the most attractive person she has ever met?

[8:16 AM] Clarke – I consider myself very lucky then! Plus, it would be a bit hypercritical of me to make fun of your supermans when my bedtime underwear are equally as embarrassing. 

Fuck. She really needed to stop thinking of Clarke like this. But it’s going to be impossible when she sees her every day and she’s this wound up. Maybe she needs to make a night of going to Polis, so she can find a hook up and get Clarke off her mind. 

Not knowing how to respond to Clarkes message, Lexa takes a few deep breaths to calm down before returning to the kitchen. She tries her best not to make eye contact with Clarke when she sits at the outside dining table, scared that she would be able to read her thoughts just from one look at her. So, she looks over to her mother who has a teasing smirk on her face. 

“Nice of you to join us fully clothed Alexandria. Would you like some breakfast?”

“Yeah, sure, thanks mum.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Clarke. If it weren’t for her, we would be eating dry cereal for breakfast.”

Like a mantra, Lexa had to keep telling herself not to be an awkward mess when addressing Clarke. She just had to keep her eyes above the neckline and not gaze into her mesmerising baby blues. Clearing her throat, she tore her eyes away from the delicious breakfast spread and over to Clarke.

“Thanks Clarke, you didn’t have to do this. When I go into town I’ll buy you some groceries to replace them.”

Both Clarke and Indra looked surprised at the words that came out of Lexa’s mouth. Clarke even looked at her lips for a moment. Lexa told herself it was probably just to make sure the words actually came from her and not her mother. But it still made her feel hot.

“Oh, that’s ok don’t worry about it. We keep plenty of food at the house since we live so far away from town, so this was nothing.”

Clarke and Lexa shared an intense gaze that neither seemed to be able to break. Both completely forgetting about Indra at the end of the small wooden table. 

“Well!” Indra exclaims, breaking the silence. “We better eat so I can start work for the day. I wouldn’t want to be late on my first day.” 

They all laugh at that since Indra wasn’t set specific work hours, but they were glad for the distraction. Lexa dishes up a nice variety of food onto her plate after herself and Indra both insist that Clarke start first. After taking the first bite of her breakfast, her mouth was like heaven. She really should have been prepared for it being this good after dinner last night, but every amazing thing Clarke does deserves to be recognised individually. By the look on her mothers face, she knew that she was equally as impressed. 

“Clarke, this is the best breakfast I’ve ever had. How did you learn to cook like this?”

Before Clarke had a chance to respond to Lexa, Indra cut in.

“Watch your words child. While I don’t disagree with your statement, you will do well to remember the person who has cooked your breakfast most of your life, is also at this table.”

Lexa audibly gulped and almost choked on her juice. But the display between mother and daughter made Clarke laugh. 

“Nothing beats a mother’s cooking” Clarke comes to the rescue. “But don’t tell my mother I told you that. She’s a great surgeon but eating her food might turn you into one of her patients. 

They all shared a laugh at that before Lexa and Indra went quiet, giving the Clarke the chance to answer Lexa’s question. 

“It was actually my grandmother who taught me to cook. She used to live with us before she passed, and since there wasn’t much to do on weekends here I used to help her cook and garden.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that Clarke, if she had a hand in raising you, I’m sure she was a fine woman” Indra pulled her attention away from her plate and offered Clarke a soft smile. 

Lexa didn’t know what to do. She felt horrible for asking a question that would put Clarke on the spot like that. Her eyes were glued to her plate like it contained all the answers to her stupidity and she mindlessly pushed her food around with her fork. She saw Clarke look at her, but she felt too guilty to return the gaze. 

After a moment Clarke replied. “Thanks, she certainly was. It’s been a few years now, and I have learnt to focus on the happy memories instead of letting it pull me down.”

Lexa was suddenly no longer hungry, lucky she had finished most of what was on her plate, so it didn’t seem rude that she had stopped eating. Usually she would have no problem eating everything and going back for seconds. Her mother seemed to pick up on the fact that she had stopped eating though and thankfully gave her an out. 

“Lexa, would you mind cleaning up the table and doing the dishes?”

“sure” she mumbled, standing up and gathering plates to take inside, still avoiding eye contact with Clarke. 

At the kitchen she could vaguely hear her mother and Clarke still speaking but couldn’t hear enough to know what they were talking about. So, she busied herself with the dishes. After a few minutes she felt a steady hand softly touch her forearm and break her out of her daydream slash self-scolding session. 

“Hey Lexa, are you ok? I’m sorry if I said something that made you uncomfortable.” Clarke looked at her worriedly and Lexa was convinced there was nothing else she could do to make this situation worse. 

Lexa sighed. “I’m sorry for making you bring up your grandma, I feel like a total ass.” Lexa didn’t move, but still stared at the bubbles slowly disappearing in the sink. If she moved, then maybe Clarke would move her hand, and she didn’t want that. 

Clarke turned her head sideways, trying to get a better look at Lexa’s face while she spoke to her. “Don’t feel bad about that, you didn’t know. Plus, it was a long time ago so I’m ok talking about it now.” She offered Lexa a small smile when she met her eyes briefly, still not moving her hand from Lexa’s arm. 

“Ok” Lexa gave in and finally turned towards Clarke, returning her smile. “Thanks for breakfast by the way, it really was amazing.” This time when she complimented the blonde, she darted her eyes around the corner to make sure her mum wouldn’t overhear and scold her again. 

Clarke laughed at Lexa’s reaction before finally retracting her hand and taking a few steps back to sit on a stool at the counter. “It’s fine, really. I saw how much you enjoyed your food last night and didn’t want you getting hangry on us.” 

Lexa beamed at Clarke’s words. Clarke actually took notice of her, even if it was something trivial, it still made Lexa’s heart soar. 

“So, what do you do for fun around here?” Lexa briefly turned back to look at Clarke while starting to wash the dishes again. 

“Well, I like to paint but obviously that’s not for everyone. Apart from that, we have the pool, or you can go for a walk around the manor. It’s so huge you can easily find something new every day if you go in a different direction. At night I usually like to watch a movie or something on Netfilx.”

“Thank god for Netflix” Lexa laughed. 

“There is actually a horror movie that I added to my list a few days ago. I was going to watch tonight, you’re welcome to join me if you like.” Clarke rushed the last part of the sentence, almost as if she was nervous to ask. 

“So long as it isn’t about people in the woods or a secluded area, count me in. Otherwise it’s a big fat no from me.” Lexa tried to make it sound like a joke, but she was dead serious. If she was made to watch something like that while living here, she probably wouldn’t sleep for a month. 

“Ok well I’m not exactly sure what it was about, it just came up in my recommendations. But don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” Clarke teased.

Lexa almost wanted to pretend to be scared during the movie even if she wasn’t. She couldn’t help but wonder if Clarke keeping her safe would including cuddling. If so, the movie would definitely be terrifying. 

Just then Indra came back inside the house with the rest of the things from the table. “Well I better head off to the house to see what needs to be done. Thanks again Clarke, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around the manor today.” Indra leaned in and kissed Lexa on the cheek. “See you later child, be good.” Indra playfully tapped the side of Lexa’s face where she had just kissed her before leaving the house. 

Silence engulfed them for a few minutes. All that could be heard was the sound of the dishes being washed and carefully stacked to dry. Always the more confident of the two, Clarke broke the silence. 

“I’m going to head back to the house now too. I hope you enjoy your first day here. Text me if you need anything or if you get bored. I’m probably going to go for a swim after lunch, so if your free come down to the pool.”

“Ok, yeah, sounds good.” Lexa replied awkwardly, too busy thinking about Clarke in a bathing suit. 

“See ya” Clarke waved at her and left Lexa alone in the house.

She wished Clarke had given her the same goodbye as her mother had, minus the smack. What she wouldn’t give to feel her lips on any part of her body… Ok, she really needed to stop thinking about Clarke that way. Even if she swore the blonde had been mildly flirting with her. She’s probably just really friendly.

Lexa quickly finished up the dishes and decided that she needed to leave the house before she went crazy thinking about all of the could be situations with Clarke. 

***************************************************************

Trying to steer clear of Clarke and not come across too needy, Lexa decided to explore the land behind their small house. She put her laptop in her drawstring bag just in case she decided to do some work and put on a pair of shoes before leaving through the back door. White Vans probably weren't the best choice of footwear to go trekking in. But they were already old, and Lexa couldn't care less if they got dirt on them. 

A few minutes into the walk and she was already amazed. Clarke was right when she said there was always something new to look at, because everywhere she turned there was a different kind of plant and the landscape was constantly changing. At times she would be trying to squeeze through an array of trees and avoiding large rocks then out of nowhere it would turn into clear flat ground that she could easily run circles around without colliding into anything. Thank god she had a good sense of direction though, otherwise it would be very easy to get lost. 

After walking aimlessly for half an hour or so, Lexa came across a pond and found a large, flat rock to sit on right near the edge of the water. Closing her eyes, she leaned back and let the palms of her hands flatten against the cool rock. Listening to the light breeze passing through the trees and birds chirping was going to become her favourite way to wind down, she was sure of it. 

She always loved being immersed in nature but never really had a chance living in their old town. There was a park she liked to visit not too far from their old house that offered her enough shade and comfortable places to sit and work or relax. But more often than not, it was filled with noisy families who always seemed to gravitate towards her no matter where she sat, ruining the serenity. 

She could get used to living here. Everything was so beautiful and peaceful, the forest surrounding the manor, the manor itself, their new house and of course, Clarke. Better take advantage of the piece and quiet she thought to herself, opening her bag and pulling out her laptop to power it on. “Fuck.” She mumbled under her breath. “I forgot I needed to charge it last night.” Speaking to no one in particular, she put shoved her laptop back into her bag and pulled out her phone to call her best friend. 

Anya picked up after few rings, surprising Lexa because she barely picked up her phone at all. 

“Lexa! You’re still alive” Anya yelled through the phone, causing Lexa to pull it away from her face in fear of bursting an ear drum.

“Yes, but I won’t be much longer if you scare me half to death yelling through the phone.” 

“Yeah, yeah drama queen. How was your first night?” 

Lexa pulled herself up off the rock and started slowly heading back in the direction of the house. Anya’s loud voice booming through the phone would probably be enough to scare off the wildlife. 

“It was good, my new bed is amazing. I barely had the energy to pull myself out of it though.” Lexa laughed

“Shit, I can’t believe you’re in the middle of nowhere, living like royalty and leaving the rest of us peasants to our lumpy beds. When are you going to check out Polis?”

“I Haven’t really thought about it yet. I’ll have to butter mum up first, so she will let me use the car.” 

“So... how many other people live at the manor? Surely it’s not just the doctor.” 

Lexa silently exhaled, she knew what Anya was like. If she says one thing to her about Clarke being a similar age and detects anything more than indifference from Lexa, she will be bombarded with teasing questions. 

“Just three of them, the doctor, her husband and their kid.” 

Surely that should deter Anya from the conversation.

“A kid? From what you were saying before, the doctor was the same age as your mum. How old’s their kid.”

Fuck, she should have known better. But what else was she supposed to say? She probably should have lied and said it was just Abby and Jake. 

“I guess kids not the right word, she’s only a year younger than us.”

“Well now I know why you love it there so much. Sure, a nice room and a good bed is something to be happy about. But nothing keeps you more interested than a hot chick.”

Lexa coughed and heard Anya laughing at her through the other side of the phone. 

“How would you know what she looks like? For all you know she could look like a bear.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t normally know. But the fact that I know you so well and it’s taken you this long to mention said girl, and even tried to avoid bringing her up tells me she’s already caught your attention.” 

“She’s just really nice is all. She likes to paint, and I’ve never met anyone our age that can cook as good as her.” 

“So, what’s the hot kids name?” 

“Anya..”

“Kidding Lexa. What’s the hot chicks name?” 

Lexa rolled her eyes and felt her phone slightly vibrate on the side of her face. Ignoring Anya for a moment, she opened her phone to check her notifications and saw a snap from Clarke. 

[Shapchat from CGriffin] – *Picture attachment*  
[Shapchat from CGriffin] – I was bored, so decided to head down to the pool early!

All Lexa could focus on at that moment was Clarke’s pale, bare legs poking out of her extremely short shredded denim pants, sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet submerged. She must have been ignoring Anya for longer than she realised because a loud shout of her name from the receiver brought her back to reality. 

“Sorry An, I actually have to go. Mum needs my help.” 

“Bullshit, I didn’t hear mumma Woods on the other end, so I know you’re full of it. The least you could do is tell me the name of the girl you are ditching me for.

“No can do, I’ll text you later. Byee” 

“Le” 

Lexa quickly hung up on Anya before she could give her the third degree. At this stage all she was worried about was making it to the pool as quickly as possible. Hopefully Clarke would still be there when she got there. 

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – Just went for a walk behind the house. The water looks amazing, be there in 10-15.

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – P.s, I hope you don’t mind some company!

Lucky Anya wasn’t here, or she would be teasing the shit out of her for being too keen. 

[Shapchat from CGriffin] – Well, that was kinda the point of letting you know I was down here!

Idiot Lexa, you should have known that. She face palms, weaving in between trees and trying not to run into anything with her eyes still glued to her phone. 

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – Right! I knew that. See you soon. 

With renewed vigour, she starts jogging the rest of the way back to the house. Glancing at her phone when it buzzes making sure it’s not Clarke changing her mind. When she notices it’s Anya giving her shit, she decides to ignore it and continue making her way back. 

**********************************************************************

“Hey!” Lexa heard Clarke call. She could hear the noisy pool motor and smell the salts, so she knew she was in the right place, but she had no idea where the gate was. The pool yard, much like the rest of the manor was hidden by an array of trees. She pitied whoever’s job it was to clean it being surrounded by so many leaves just waiting to drop. Remembering for a second why they were there in the first place she swore. Fuck, hopefully it’s not her mother job because she hates swimming and will most certainly force Lexa to do it. 

This really was becoming embarrassing, hopefully Clarke will find her soon before she continuously loops the pool are without finding out how to get in. 

“Clarke? Where is the gate to get in?” 

She heard the clinking metal of the gate opening and turned around to see Clarke grinning at her, holding the gate open. Yep, of coarse she had just walked straight past it. But in her defence, the gate was covered in moss and looked just like the rest of the area. 

“Hey Lexa. I thought after the second time you walked past you probably weren’t taking in the scenery.” Clarke laughed and moved aside further to gesture Lexa inside. 

Lexa brushed past Clarke to walk through the gate and tried her best not to breath in her perfume. Who was she kidding though, she wasn’t really trying not to. 

“Sorry, maybe you should put a sign up that says entrance or something.” 

“Don’t worry, it only takes a few times before you’ll memorise where it is.” Clarke laughed.  
The pool was smaller than Lexa was expecting it to be from how big the gated area is, but it is still certainly bigger than a normal backyard pool. She was rooted into place, taking in the area around her. Everywhere in the manor was like being on a different continent and it constantly impressed her. 

The pool itself is surrounded by a polished wooden deck with a few comfortable looking deck chairs. Where the deck ends, lush green grass takes over and only stops at the large tropical hut nestled into the back corner. It appears that the Griffins must have dinner in here every now and again because there looks like a fully functioning kitchen in there too. 

“Wow, this is amazing Clarke.” 

“It is pretty cool isn’t it? Since my parents are usually too busy to enjoy themselves, this is basically my retreat. But I’m happy to share it with you.” The smile Clarke flashes her almost knocks her off her feet. Lucky they weren’t standing next to the pool or she probably would have fallen in. 

“Thanks” Lexa awkwardly laughs “I think I will definitely be taking you up on that.” 

“You can put your bag down under the hut if you want. Did you bring clothes or something?” Clarke asks eyeing Lexa’s bag. 

“Huh? Oh. When I went for a walk I took my laptop with me. I probably should have dropped it back to the house, but I forgot.” Lexa blushed.

“Ok, well feel free to put it wherever you want. There are towels in the cupboards next to the table so don’t worry if you ever forget one.”

“Thanks.” Lexa hurried off to the hut and put her bag down, pretending to look at her phone for a moment so she could see what Clarke was doing. She had returned to her previous position that Lexa received the snap of, sitting on the edge of the pool with her feet submerged. Clarke looked so peaceful kicking her legs through the water and leaning back on her arms. She could get used to this. 

After enough undercover staring, she kicked off her shoes and left her things on the table to join Clarke. Thankfully she decided to wear shorts today, so she could still put her legs in the pool without needing to take off her pants or annoyingly roll them up. Clarke has probably seen enough of her underwear today so taking them off wasn’t an option.

It wasn’t a particularly hot day, but as soon as Lexa sat down next to Clarke and put her feet in the pool, she was relieved for the coolness on her skin. The blonde only a couple of feet away always seemed to make her body temperature hotter than it should be in her prescence.

“Nice isn’t it?” Clarke looked down at Lexa’s feet.

“Surprisingly it is. I was worried it was going to be freezing” Lexa chucked.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes. Lexa felt a bit awkward because she didn’t know if she should say something, but Clarke looked content sitting there. Just as she was thinking of something to talk about, Clarke beat her to it.

“So, how are you liking it here so far? I know there isn’t much to do bit it’s grown on me. I know I wasn’t very happy at first when my parents told me we were moving here.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t very impressed when mum told me about it. But I knew she needed a change and I wasn’t ready to be on my own just yet. Even though it’s only been a day, I’m glad that I came too. It helps that everything here is amazing and that we aren’t living in the old rusted shack that I pictured.” Lexa smiled at the beautiful laugh that left Clarke’s lips. 

“You thought you’d be living in a shack? That’s hilarious. Obviously either your mum or mine didn’t pass on enough information.” 

“Yeah I guess it was a bit silly. But as my friend Anya says, I stress about literally everything.” 

“I seriously doubt it’s ‘literally’ everything” Clarke playfully shoved her arm and Lexa had to resist the urge to grab her hand and keep their skin touching. 

“So was your friend Anya pissed that you moved?”

“Yes, was to begin with and even threatened my life a few times, but we have been best friends since we were 5 and she knew it would be good for both mum and I.” 

Clarke leaned forward and started gliding her hands through the water on either side of her feet.

“I bet your boyfriend would have been upset that you moved.” 

That caught Lexa off guard, and Clarke was avoiding eye contact with her while she waited for a response. Trying to act more interested in rubbing off a non-existent mark on her foot. Lexa didn’t really know what to say to that. She didn’t know Clarke very well and was scared that if she revealed her sexuality it might offend her in some way.

“Um. No boyfriend”

“Girlfriend?” Clarke asked a bit more optimistic

Lexa knew she had to tell the truth, or it might end up blowing up in her face. If she wanted to be friends with Clarke, she had to be honest with her from the start. 

“Not currently. I haven’t dated anyone for a couple of years now”

“That seems unlikely, you’re gorgeous.” Clarke blurted out and Lexa almost choked.

She thinks I’m gorgeous?

“There weren’t very many lesbians where I lived that were my age, and I wasn’t interested in dating any of the girls that I knew slept around.” 

“Makes sense. You’ll have better luck in Polis if you ever decide to go. I’m sure you’ll have to beat the girls back with a stick to keep them away from you.”

Where were all these compliments coming from. She could hardly believe that someone like Clarke was saying these things about her. Maybe she was probably just trying to be nice, that was the most likely explanation. She didn’t really know what to say to that either, taking compliments was never her strong suit. So, she did what she normally would in that situation, deflect.

“What about you? How long have you been with your boyfriend?”

“Finn? We have been friends since birth but only started dating 2 years ago. His dad works at the hospital with my mum and our families have always been close. Everyone always said growing up that we would end up together and have a bunch of kids.”

Lexa detected a bit of sadness in Clarkes words towards the end but didn’t want to push her to open up.

“So long as your happy, that’s all that matters.” 

“Yeah I guess. He has changed since school finished though and at times I don’t recognize him anymore. But when it’s just the two of us, sometimes it’s easy and carefree like it’s always been.”

“Why the sudden change after school?” Lexa asked gently, almost not expecting a response.

“I think it’s because his mother got him a high paying job working for the Polis council that he isn’t even qualified for. Like ours, his family has always had money, but Finns dad would always put his foot down when his mother was giving him everything he wanted. Now, since it’s technically his own money he throws it around like it’s nothing. I just want my friend back”

Lexa hated that she upset Clarke in such a small amount of time. Even though technically it wasn’t her fault, she really needs to learn when to stop asking questions. Clarke pulled her hands and feet out of the pool and crossed her legs, letting her arms rest on her thighs so her hands could dry. 

“I’m sorry to hear that, if you ever want someone to talk to I’m all ears. I know I can’t do anything about it but sometimes it helps just to put it out there.” She scooched over so she was sitting closer to Clarke. All she could do was put a comforting arm on her back, not really knowing what to do but wanting to help. 

“Thanks Lexa, I might just take you up on that.” Clarke leaned over and rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder. 

They both sat in comfortable silence, looking down at the pool. Lexa could feel her feet starting to get cold from the water but didn’t want to move and disturb Clarke, so she stayed where she was. Clarke needed a friend right now. 

Lexa’s phone ringing started them both and she apologised to Clarke before quickly getting up and jogging over to the hut to answer it. If it was Anya that ruined this moment, she swore that she would be looking for a new friend. But she knew if it was her mum and she didn’t answer, she would be in for a hell of a lecture later. Luckily for Anya, it was her mother. 

“Hey mum what’s up?”

“Lexa where are you? I need help with something at the Griffins house.”

Lexa sighed silently so her mum wouldn’t hear her.

“I’m just at the pool with Clarke, I’ll be there soon.” 

“Ok, see you soon”

She felt horrible for leaving Clarke right now but knew her mum had to do her job properly, so they could continue living here. So she reluctantly grabbed her bag and walked back over to Clarke. 

“Sorry, mum needs help with something but I can come back when I’m finished if you want?”

“That’s ok, thanks for keeping me company though. Are you still up for a movie tonight?”

“Wouldn’t miss it. Are you going to be ok?”

Lexa squatted down and put her hand on Clarkes forearm.

“Yeah I’m fine, promise. I just haven’t said some of those things out loud before. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Ok, bye Clarke. Text me if you need anything.”

Lexa reluctantly stood up and left the pool yard. She felt terrible for leaving Clarke upset. She would have to be her best self tonight and make it up to her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Movie night and a trip to Polis. I hope you all enjoy!

Clothes, shoes, paintbrushes and scrap paper were flying all around Clarkes bedroom a mere hour before Lexa was supposed to arrive. Her room was an absolute mess since she rarely had any visitors and her parents were too busy to scold her, but she stands by it being her 'creative chaos'. After putting the stray clothes back into her walk-in cupboard and taking two bags of rubbish down to the bin outside, she started tidying the TV area she had in the corner of the large room. The area consists of a three-seater couch, bean bag, coffee table and decent sized flat screen TV, making it perfect for movie nights.

She couldn’t even remember the last time she was so excited to have a movie night. Most nights it was obviously just her, and even though she would constantly be in contact with her friends, she was still lonely. Her friends almost couldn’t believe it when she was sending them pictures of her now immaculate room. Bellamy joked about not needing to get all of their shots before going into her room now, but she ignored him. 

After her earlier conversation with Lexa at the pool, she wanted everything to be perfect for when the brunette arrived. Lexa was so attentive and kind, letting her tell her story without interrupting or judging her in any way. She was just there, listening to Clarke get everything off her chest. She hadn’t realized just how much she needed to do that until she got back home and felt ten times lighter. She could tell that her and Lexa were going to be good friends, they just clicked, and she already felt so comfortable around her. 

Speaking of the devil, Clarkes phone buzzed on the table in front of the couch with a snap from Lexa. 

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – *Picture attachment*   
[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – I hope you’re hungry! Mum sent me to Polis to buy groceries, so I loaded up on snacks. 

Clarke was tempted to screenshot the picture, but she didn’t know how Lexa would react to it. In the picture she sent, Lexa was holding bags of chips and lollies in one hand and had the biggest smile on her face. It was her smile that made Clarke want to keep a copy of the picture. 

[Shapchat from CGriffin] – How did you know those are all my favourites! I’m pretty much finished up at home so come by whenever you’re ready. 

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – I must admit, I may have stalked your social media to see what you liked. I know I could have just asked, but I wanted to surprise you since you weren’t having the best morning. 

Lexa really was something else. Originally when they first met, Clarke thought it was going to take much longer to get Lexa out of her shell, if ever. But she was definitely happy with this turn of events. She has gone from not being able to complete a sentence in her presence, to finding out things about her to try and make her feel better in the space of a day. 

[Shapchat from CGriffin] – That all looks amazing, I have been so busy today that I forgot to eat lunch, so your snacks aren’t going to last long!

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – Well, I did have another couple of bags stashed away but I guess I’ll bring them too. I’m just helping mum put everything away before I shower so I’ll probably be half an hour away. 

[Shapchat from CGriffin] – No worries, I’ll see you soon :)

The longest half an hour of Clarke’s life went by while she was waiting for Lexa. She tried to busy herself by making sure her room was perfect and even went as far as making her bed, which she never did. A few minutes before the brunette was due to arrive, Clarke went down stairs to get some bowls, cups and drinks to take up with her. She had just finished setting them up on the coffee table in her room when there was a knock at the door. 

She probably wouldn’t have heard it if she wasn’t so intent on listening out for it. You could barely hear knocking at the door from upstairs, but it seemed pointless to have a doorbell installed since whoever was on the property had to make themselves known to be let through the front gate anyway.

Clarke was halfway down the stairs when she heard her mum talking to Lexa. 

“Hi Mrs Griffin, it’s nice to meet you, I’m Lexa, Indra’s daughter.” Lexa offered her hand out to Abby for her to shake. 

“Oh, hi Lexa. I don’t think your mother is here right now. Is there something I can help you with?” Abby looked slightly confused but took the offered hand. 

The Lexa that Clarke first met seemed to resurface at that moment, she looked shy and unsure of how to progress the conversation. 

“I’m actually here to see..”

“Lexa, right on time” Clarke interrupted, deciding to save Lexa the embarrassment.

Abby looked between the two girls, clearly confused. Clarke wasn’t usually one to make new friends so quickly. Sure, her daughter was polite, but she didn’t tend to make new friends this quickly, usually just sticking to her inner circle.

“Hi mum, when did you get home?” Clarke asked, kissing her mother on the cheek.

“About 1am. Thanks for the pizza by the way, was it one of your friend’s birthday or something?”

Clarke visibly blushed, she was really getting sick of people asking her that. 

“No, but dad invited Indra and Lexa around for dinner last night, so I thought it would be nice to make them something for their first night here.”

Abby confused at first, was now looking at her daughter sceptically. Something was going on for sure, but she didn’t have the time to pester her about it right now. 

“Right… Well I’m headed back to work, but I have a couple of days off after this shift so maybe we can go into Polis one day and do some shopping?”

“Sounds good mum, have a nice shift” 

Before she left, Abby looked between the two girls again as if she was trying to figure out what was going on. Lexa looked very uncomfortable and was trying to look at anything else in the house apart from the two Griffin’s. 

“Bye Clarke, nice to meet you Lexa.” Abby grabbed her keys off the table next to the door and left the two girls alone to share a moment of awkward silence. 

“Soo.. I have everything set up in my room if you want to come up?” Clarke pointed her thumb in the direction of the stairs. 

“Um, yeah sure, lead the way” Lexa finally made eye contact with Clarke before following her up the stairs. 

The awkward silence followed them both up the stairs and Clarke was worried that Lexa was starting to feel uncomfortable around her again. Once they reached the top, she figured the polite thing to do was to give Lexa a bit of a tour and hopefully engage her in conversation again.

“Up here is pretty much just bedrooms and my dads home office” Clarke pointed down the hallway to the left. “Down there is my parents room and the office, and on the other side of the house are two spare bedrooms and my room.” 

They both started walking in the direction of Clarkes bedroom, passing two doors which were obviously the guest rooms, before pushing through the half open door at the end of the hallway. Clarke was half way from the door to the TV area before she realised that Lexa was no longer following her. She was stuck in the doorway gaping at the room, her eyes never stopping in one place for too long. 

“You can set the stuff down on the table there whenever you’re ready” Clarke said pointing to the coffee table. “If you need to use the bathroom it’s through the door next to the bed. Make yourself at home” she smiled over at the brunette. 

“This is amazing Clarke. I thought my room was huge, but this is twice as big. I don’t think I would even have enough stuff to fill a room this size.” Lexa had taken a few more steps into the room but still wasn’t done admiring everything. 

“Thanks. I thought so too when I first moved my stuff in, but I filled it up pretty quick.” Clarke chuckled, amused at the brunettes reaction. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I’ve only ever seen bedrooms like this in magazines.” Lexa finally walked over to the TV area and set the bag of snacks down. 

“No problem, you’ll get used to it. You’re more than welcome to come and watch movies whenever you want. It’s become a bit of a night time ritual for me.” Clarke sat down at the far end of the couch to leave plenty of room for Lexa to sit. 

Lexa looked torn between sitting on the beanbag or sitting with Clarke on the couch. But when Clarke patted the middle of the couch, Lexa followed and sat next to her.

*****************************

They were halfway through the movie and almost through all of the snacks and Clarke could tell that the movie was getting to Lexa. She peeked over occasionally and giggled when she noticed that Lexa had her hand over her face and was watching through the cracks in her fingers. She moved a bit closer to her on the couch, pretending to reach for some of the snacks on the table. After a couple of times doing this, she was sitting close enough to Lexa that their legs were almost touching, but the brunette didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy trying to watch the tv through her fingertips. 

Clarke didn’t know why she felt the need to sit so close to her. She usually liked her own space whenever she watched movies with anyone else, even Finn, moving away from him whenever he got too close. But Lexa looked adorable and scared, Clarke would have felt bad for making her watch a scary movie if she wasn’t getting so much enjoyment in watching her. She closed the last bit of distance between them, so their thighs were touching and felt Lexa almost jump off the couch beside her. 

Clarke internally scolded herself. What the hell was she doing? They barely know each other, but she couldn’t help herself, something about Lexa just makes any distance between them too much. She really hoped that she hadn’t taken it too far. Chancing a look over at Lexa and hoping that the girl wouldn’t just get up and leave, she found her looking scared more than anything else. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. You were just looking scared over there and I thought it might help.” Clarke started moving back towards the other side of the couch, but a hand on her wrist stopped her. 

“It’s ok, sorry I jumped, I just wasn’t expecting anything to touch me is all.” Lexa pulled her arm towards her, inviting Clarke back into her space. “I enjoyed you sitting next to me though.” She smiled shyly at Clarke. 

“You know. The movie isn’t any less scary when you watch it through your hands right?” Clarke laughed at her, cuddling up into her side.

“Pfft, I beg to differ. Clearly it isn’t affecting you but seeing half of something makes it much less scary than seeing the whole thing.” Lexa continued watching the movie but kept her hand on Clarkes arm. 

“Whatever you say, dork” Clarke said, earning a small slap on the knee from Lexa. 

Clarke couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy and content. Even with Finn or any of her other friends, nothing was ever this easy. She would have to make Lexa watch scary movies with her every night if she had the excuse to cuddle up to her. Thankfully with her hand over her face, Lexa didn’t notice that Clarke was watching her more than she was the movie. She had a question prodding at the back of her mind, but she wasn’t too sure how she should word it. She didn’t want to freak Lexa out or make her uncomfortable. 

“When did you realise you liked girls?” Clarke blurted out

Lexa's hand dropped from her face and immediately met shy blue eyes, completely ignoring the movie she was focused on a second ago. Clarke could tell that Lexa was searching for something in her expression, but she wasn't too sure what. 

"I um, I guess it wasn't something that happened all at once. Growing up I never really had much interest in boys, even when I watched something on TV I was always crushing on the female actors. I had a couple of boyfriends growing up, but it was more because of peer pressure than anything else. It probably wasn't until I met my first girlfriend Costia that I realised my feelings were more than friendly." Lexa smiled her and glanced back over towards the tv to break the tension. 

Clarke was at a complete loss on how to respond to her, so she sat quietly and let Lexa continue talking. 

"We started out as friends, but our relationship was always a lot flirtier than with our other friends. It took me a couple of months to tell her how I felt, and once I did she freaked out, and it absolutely crushed me. Turns out she felt the same way but was scared when she was coming to the conclusion herself. We spoke about it a lot more and decided to take things slow. After our first kiss though, slow kind of went out the window." Lexa laughed. 

"What happened between you and Costia? Why did you break up?" Clarke was staring at an empty packet of chips on the table like she was directing her question to it, because she didn't have the courage to look at Lexa while asking such personal questions. 

"Her parents weren't very happy with her decision to date me. They even blamed me for turning her gay. So, when her father was offered a job in another town, they moved. We were planning on having a long-distance relationship, but her parents cut off all contact between the two of us when they arrived. They took her phone and limited her access to the computer, so she couldn't use social media. The only reason I found out all of this happened was because she had a friend from her new school tell me and apologise."

Clarke could tell that this was still a sore topic for Lexa, because her whole demeanour changed while telling the story. She couldn't believe there were still people in the world with views like that. She felt so bad that Lexa had to go through it, not to mention what Costia went through. 

"I was absolutely heartbroken. I had no idea what I did to deserve such hate from people I never even met. After they moved I even tried to reach out to her parents, wrote them letters since they wouldn't take my calls. I wanted them to give me a chance to get to know me, and I couldn't just give up on Costia. But nothing I tried worked, and after a while they even had the police call my mum and tell them if I didn't stop trying to contact them, they would charge me with harassment. I was 15 for fucks sake."

Lexa was crying now, and all Clarke could think to do was wrap her arms around the brunette's shoulders. Clearly this was a day that they both needed to get things out into the open. But Clarke was glad that Lexa trusted her enough to share her story. When she first asked how she knew she was gay, she wasn't expecting this at all. Her heartbeat started increasing when Lexa put her head on her chest and she was praying that she couldn't hear it. 

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. But you have to know that you couldn't have done anything to change their minds. People like that don’t listen to reason, they think that their way is the only way.” 

“I know that now. But it really did a number on me growing up. I thought I would never be good enough for anyone. My friends managed to pull me out of it and realize my worth though.” Lexa brushed the remaining tears off her face with the back of her hand and faced Clarke again.

“Sorry for putting all of this on you. We barely know each other but I feel like I can tell you anything.” Lexa smiled when Clarke took her hand and squeezed it lightly.

“Well if my meltdown at the pool earlier didn’t prove that I feel the same with you, then I’m not sure what will.” Clarke chuckled. 

“Did you want to watch another movie? I promise I won’t pick something scary this time.” Clarke reached over with the hand that wasn’t still clutching Lexa’s to grab the TV remote. 

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Lexa smiled

Clarke found a comedy on her recommendations list that neither of them have seen got it ready on the screen. Since they had demolished all of the snacks from earlier, she went down stairs to make a bag of popcorn for them to share. When she came back up, instead of taking her spot back on the far side of the couch away from Lexa, she returned to her space right beside her. 

They were about 5 minutes into the movie but neither girl seemed entirely interested in it. Too busy stealing glances at each other and sharing small smiles. Clarke felt Lexa shuffle slightly next to her, so she could face her a bit better.

“I completely forgot! Was there a reason you were asking about how I knew I was gay? Or were you just curious? I had planned on asking once I was finished explaining. But I think we both remember why that didn’t happen.” Lexa awkwardly laughed. 

“Oh. Um. Not really, I was just curious more than anything.” Clarke blushed and tried to turn her focus back onto the tv. “But I’m glad that you shared that with me, and I’m always here if you ever want to vent.”

“Me too, and same goes for you if you ever want to talk. It’s not like I’m very far away now.” 

The rest of the night was light, both girls joking, sharing stories and just enjoying each other’s company. 

***********************

More than a week later and Clarke could barely remember what her life was like without seeing Lexa every day. Their days were spent lounging around the pool, watching movies in each other’s rooms and occasionally studying together. Much to Clarkes dismay, there were always a few hours each day that she wouldn’t see the brunette because she was either exercising or needed the quiet to complete an assignment. 

Which is why she decided to invite Lexa to go with her to Lincoln’s birthday party tonight instead of going a night without her. She had already texted Octavia a few days ago to make sure it was ok, which Octavia thankfully responded, ‘the more the merrier’. It was going to be a bit awkward since Finn was going to be there and she didn’t want him shadowing them all night and making Lexa uncomfortable. But she was hoping that he would be drinking and finding other people to annoy as he usually does at parties. The last thing she wanted to do was invite Lexa to come with her then ditch her 10 minutes in when she didn’t know anybody.

After throwing her bag into her car, she walked the short distance to the Woods residence to see if Lexa was almost ready to leave. She was just about to knock on the front door, even though Indra insisted she could just come straight in, when she heard the pair talking. 

“Don’t forget to message me when you get there, when you leave the party and when you are leaving again in the morning.” Indra’s powerful voice could be heard easily through the door. 

“Yes mum” She heard Lexa groan

“I’m serious Lexa. You’re all I have, and I won’t be able to sleep tonight until I hear from you.” 

Hearing Indra’s confession made Clarke feel like she was intruding on something. It also made her heart ache slightly that her parents rarely spoke to her like that. They were always too busy with their jobs to have much time for her now. She decided to knock on the door to avoid a possibly awkward moment if she was found stalking around the front door. 

It felt like only a second after she knocked that she could hear Indra’s voice again on the other side of the door.

“How many times have I told you to stop knocking Clarke?” 

Very slowly, Clarke opened the door and peeked her head inside, looking for either of the two women and hoping to avoid further scolding from Indra. She couldn’t see Indra so assumed that she must have went into her room or outside. But just as she fully stepped through the door, Lexa came around the corner of the hallway with a bag slung over her shoulder and greeted her with a hug. She noticed pretty quickly that Lexa was a hugger. 

The first time she saw her every day, Lexa would embrace her in a light hug. If you asked Clarke truthfully what her favourite part of the day was, it would be when she saw Lexa and got to hug her. 

“Hey Lex, ready to go?” Clarke asked

“Yep, just let me say bye to mum then we can go.” Lexa walked down the hallway towards her mother’s room but came back after a few seconds with Indra in tow. 

“Bye girls, have fun and be safe. Clarke, do you have my number in your phone in case you need to reach me?” Indra curled one of her arms around Lexa’s shoulder and kissed the side of her face. 

“I don’t, but I promise I’ll get it Lexa to put it in my phone during the drive.” Clarke watched Lexa reciprocate the hug before Indra walked them both to the door. 

She was surprised when Indra hugged her too before saying goodbye one last time. Hugging must be a Woods thing, she guessed. After sending a quick text to both of her parents telling them she was leaving for the night and would probably see them Sunday afternoon, they piled into the car and drove down the long driveway and out the front gate. 

“So, are we staying with one of your friends in Polis?” Lexa asked while flicking through the radio stations to try and find some music. 

“God no” Clarke laughed. “My parent’s own an apartment in the city that mum usually stays at if she’s on a split shift or too tired to drive home when she’s finished for the day. It comes in handy when I go visit my friends too. Don’t get me wrong, I love them and all, but they are ridiculously annoying, and I don’t trust them when I’m sleeping. It only took one time for me to wake up after barely any sleep with pen all over my face to never put myself through that again.” 

“Your friends sound exactly like mine. Anya and Raven would never pass up the opportunity to embarrass me.” Lexa playfully frowned. “Is your mum going to be staying at the apartment with us tonight?”

“No, luckily for us she had a short shift today and finishes in the early afternoon so will be heading home straight after. So, you’ll get a bed all to yourself.” 

Part of Clarke was mildly disappointed that her mother wouldn’t be there, and they would have to share a bed. Even after all of the late-night movie marathons they’ve had, Lexa always insists on walking home afterwards and Clarke is always too shy to ask if she can stay when they are at the brunette’s house. She wasn’t even sure why the thought of sharing a bed excited her. Probably just because she would get a whole uninterrupted night cuddled up next to Lexa. 

If Finn ever found out though, he would probably be pissed. She once shared with him her feelings towards girls but was trying to play it off more as a joke in the moment. Ever since then he gets jealous no matter who she’s around. She should have known he would see right through it. He is her oldest friend after all. 

They drove the hour between Polis and the manor listening to music and talking about the movies and TV shows that they had been watching lately. Lexa kept checking her phone and showing Clarke all of the ridiculous pictures that her friend Anya was sending her. As they were nearing the city, Lexa had her face pushed up as far against the glass as she could without actually touching it. 

“The city is much bigger then I expected. Arkadia has nothing on this.” Lexa gawked

“Yeah I enjoy coming here when I feel like joining humanity again. Sometimes it’s nice to stay in the apartment for the weekend and just spend some time in the city. Maybe one weekend we could come back, and I’ll show you all the best spots.” Clarke was trying to focus on driving, but it was hard with Lexa being so cute and inquisitive in the passenger seat. 

“That sounds amazing, I think I’ve already seen about ten shops that I would love to go to.” 

Clarke laughed at Lexa’s eagerness and was glad she decided to invite her to the party. She already couldn’t wait to bring her back and they only just pulled up to the apartment. 

“We have a couple of hours until I told Octavia we would be there, so we can either go for a walk around or chill for a bit upstairs.” Clarke looked over at Lexa who was grabbing both of their bags from the back seat of the car. 

“I think if we go for a walk I would want more than a couple of hours and it would be hard to drag me back. So maybe we should just go upstairs for a bit.” Lexa started following Clarke into the lobby of the building. 

It seems that the wind had changed in the car ride because Lexa’s face was permanently awestruck. She can admit that the lobby in the apartment building was quite posh, but she has been coming here for years so she hadn’t really taken much notice of it anymore. There were still large pots filled with palms and vases on the front desk with flower arrangements. The marble floor was still meticulously polished and the old man in his flawless black suit was still stationed next to the elevator. 

“Whoa” was all Lexa said even as they got into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor.   
Clarke was fishing through her bag to find the keys while leading them to the middle of the hallway where their apartment was. After a minute of fighting her bag, she pulled out the keys and let them both inside. She heard a small intake of breath before Lexa almost ran to the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city. All she could do was laugh at the brunette and plonk herself down on the couch while Lexa soaked it all in. 

“Will you be ok if I go take a shower? My legs feel a little bit stiff after the drive and the warm water always helps.” Clarke directed at Lexa, not sure if she was even listening.

“Yeah, yeah no worries.” She waved her off without even turning her head away from the window. 

“Ok, see you in a bit.” Clarke laughed.

She couldn’t wait to see all of her friends again tonight. Before she got in the shower she tried to convince herself that she had to pick the perfect outfit to impress Finn. Not the beautiful brunette currently acting like a kid at Christmas in her living room….


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party, some drama and a surprise guest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay posting! I wrote most of this chapter in one sitting so I hope it's ok. 
> 
> On another note, I met Eliza Taylor while she was in Australia last month and was absolutely star struck. She's a very genuine person and I hope to meet her again when she comes back. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!

After Clarke left her in the living room, Lexa sat in the lounge room for another few minutes admiring the view outside the window. Her nerves just started setting in when she realized that she needed to start getting ready for the party with a bunch of strangers. Since there were only two other doors on the opposite side of the apartment, Lexa assumed one of those was going to be where she was staying. Part of her wanted to ask Clarke which room she was supposed to be in, but then she remembered that there were only two bedrooms. 

She picked up her bag from beside the couch and tentatively pushed open the door closest to her to reveal a medium sized room with a desk in the middle of it and bookshelves lining the walls. Unless she was going to be sleeping on the small sofa in here, it probably wasn’t the right room. So, she tried the other door which was closest to the front door. 

You would think that she would stop being awestruck every time she was met with such luxury, but it still didn’t stop her from admiring the bedroom. It looked like she was walking into the fanciest hotel room she had ever seen. A huge king-sized bed was pushed up against the wall in the middle of the room, covered in an array of pillows and silky looking blankets. Looking over to the opposite side of the room, she noticed straight away the large TV fixed to the wall. Maybe she could convince Clarke to watch a movie in here with her at some stage. 

The lush room was a good distraction for a couple of minutes before she set out her clothes on the bed. She had no idea what she was going to wear and had packed enough clothes for a few days rather than just the one night they were here. After going through everything she brought, she went with the black denim shorts she was wearing the first time meeting Clarke, and a nice dark green shirt that showed off her cleavage a little. Anya had told her on one occasion that those shorts made her legs look good, and if Clarkes reaction to her arse in them was anything to go by, she finally believed Anya. 

Just as she had finished pulling her shirt on, there was a light knocking at the bedroom door. Lexa quickly walked over to the door to let Clarke in but froze and unintentionally blocked the doorway when she took in what Clarke was wearing. It was like the short, black dress that was hugging her curves in all the right places like it was made just for Clarke. Lexa never thought she would wish that she was dress but couldn’t help envy how it managed to cling to the blonde everywhere. She tried her hardest not to stare at the generous amount of cleavage it offered, instead awkwardly holding up her head in hopes that her eyes wouldn’t reach that far down. 

Clarke didn’t seem to be fairing much better though, because she was raking her eyes up and down the length of Lexa’s body, doing a much worse job of hiding it than the brunette. Lexa cleared her throat and moved to the side of the door, causing Clarke to snap her head up and meet her eyes.  
“Did you want to come in? I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my hair.” Lexa nervously ran her fingers along her scalp. “What are you doing with yours?”

“Oh, I was actually planning on wearing it out like this. Does it look bad? Should I change it?” Clarke started to panic.

“No, no it looks great. Sorry, I actually don’t know why I asked that.” Lexa awkwardly turned and started putting some of the discarded clothes back into her bag. 

Clarke laughed at that, knowing that Lexa doesn’t always think before she speaks when she’s particularly nervous. “It’s going to be fine, all my friends will love you and you look fantastic. I could braid your hair if you’d like? It would go nice with your outfit.”

Lexa released a breath she forgot she was holding. “That sounds great, thanks Clarke.” She took another deep breath before gaining the courage to continue talking. “You do to, by the way” 

Clarke looked over at Lexa, cocking her head and wearing a confused expression on her face. 

“You look beautiful.”

Clarke immediately blushed and dropped eye contact with Lexa to look at the floor. “Right, thanks. I guess I’ll meet you out in the living room when you’re ready for me to do your hair?” 

“I’m almost done, I just want to finish putting all this back in my bag, so I don’t have to do it before bed when we get back.”

“You’re so OCD” Clarke chucked before walking back out the door. 

***************************

Minutes after Lexa finished organizing her things, she was still sitting on the bed. Why did Clarke make her so nervous? She was attracted to her from the first moment that she saw her, and since getting to know her, it’s only made her feelings turn real. But Clarke is only interested in boys and she is very quickly becoming one of her best friends. She needs to reel in her feelings, so she doesn’t make things awkward between them. 

Gathering her courage, she went out into the lounge room to find Clarke awkwardly playing with the hem of her dress just above her knees with her eyes cast down to the floor. 

“Where do you want me?” Lexa asked, secretly hoping Clarke would say ‘everywhere’. 

“How about you sit on one of the dining room chairs and turn your back to me?” Clarke got off the couch and followed Lexa over to the table and chairs. 

Silence overtook both girls, clearly not knowing what to say to each other and feeling awkward about their earlier gawking. Lexa swore she could feel Clarkes hands trembling slightly while she started running her fingers through her long locks to untangle small knots. Hands so gentle that she could barely feel them started braiding her hair. Lexa was too busy focusing on the fact that Clarke was so close to her, touching her so tenderly that she didn’t realise when she had finished. A small tap on her shoulder had her almost stumbling off the chair in embarrassment. 

“Sorry, I think I was falling asleep there. It’s not too often that someone else does my hair.” Lexa tries to deflect. 

“No problem, I know how you feel. I constantly ask Finn to massage my scalp even though he only does about half the time I ask.”

Lexa’s heart sank hearing Clarke talk about Finn even though she knows she has no right to feel that way. Clarke just wants to be friends, that’s all. She probably just stares at me because she’s jealous of my figure. Anya and Raven do the same thing, although they vocalise their opinions. Trying to keep a straight face and not show her internal struggles she just laughs it off. 

“Ready to go? I promised O that I would be there as soon as I could to help finish with the setup.” Clarke looked at Lexa questioningly, as if trying to figure out why she had changed suddenly. Lexa hoped she thought it was just nerves about the party.

“Yep, ready when you are.” Lexa grabbed her phone off the table and draped her leather jacket over her forearm, not waiting to wear it just yet but didn’t want to get caught out if it was cold. Both of them left the apartment and went down to the car in silence still. Clarke started talking shortly after they left when the music through the radio seemed to break the tension, slightly. But all Lexa could concentrate on was not making a fool of herself in front of Clarke and her friends. Obviously Clarke didn’t know how she felt, but would her friends see it and call her out?

***************************

A mixture of scents infiltrated Lexa’s nose when they walked into the Blake house. Cigarettes, body odour, alcohol and a faint smell of food was all mixed together and Lexa couldn’t wait to be back outside. It seems that the party started much earlier than they anticipated, because they both had to dodge a few clearly drunk people whilst making their way through the house. 

“I’m just going to send a text to Finn and O to see where they’re at” Clarke was pushed right up against Lexa’s side, trying to avoid other people colliding with her while she pulled her phone out of her bag. Lexa was thankful for the powerful bass pumping through the house from the speakers, so Clarke wouldn’t notice how fast her heart was beating. 

She was already feeling so drained after the day they have had. Even though they hadn’t really done much, she felt like her mind had gone through every kind of emotion and she couldn’t keep up with it. Every time Clarke came near her, her heart would beat erratically, and she would get nervous. Whenever the blonde laughed at something, she felt a warmness engulf her. Though, when she mentioned anything about Finn, her heart would sink, and she felt stupid for even feeling so strongly about Clarke. 

Stupid was how Lexa currently felt watching Clarke text her boyfriend. She felt kind of bad for reading her phone, but curiosity got the better of her and Clarke wasn’t trying to hide it. Plus, they were pushed so close to each other that she could barely concentrate on anything other than the beauty next to her anyway. 

Finn [5:15pm] – Hey babe, are you at the party yet?  
Octavia [5:15pm] – Hey O, where are you guys? We just got here. 

“Do you want to come for a walk around to try and find someone I know? I didn’t even know that they knew this many people.” 

All Lexa could do was nod and hope that they didn’t manage to run into Finn for the whole night. She didn’t think that she could handle watching them be a couple. Clarke stood up onto her toes and tried to look over the sea of heads in the living room. She must not have found anyone though, because the next minute she was grabbing Lexa’s hand and guiding her through the house. Lexa almost jumped when she felt Clarkes soft fingers threading through hers before their palms met. 

She hasn’t felt so much from a simple touch in longer than she can remember and was really trying to pull herself together. She was praying to all of the gods that her palms wouldn’t get sweaty, but she’s really not that lucky and isn’t going to give up Clarkes hand a second before she has to. Hopefully she doesn’t need to remember the layout of the house either, because all she can concentrate on right now is how amazing the situation is. 

They stopped in the doorway of the kitchen for a few seconds before she felt Clarke pull her arm forward again.

“Lincoln!” Clarke called out

A tall burley guy turned around with a mildly annoyed look on his face before he spotted Clarke and instantly lit up. Lexa almost would have been concerned about her arm being ripped out of it’s socket when Clarke ran over to him and would have already dropped her hand if she was anyone else. But she also thought it was cute how excited she was. 

“Happy Birthday!” Clarke let go of Lexa’s hand and jumped up into him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. 

He lifted her off the ground slightly and said something that sounded like a thanks before easing her back onto the ground. Lexa stood there awkwardly looking around the kitchen, not wanting to intrude on their conversation since she didn’t know Lincoln. Who was she kidding though, she couldn’t even hear the conversation if she tried and didn’t want to be right up in the face of a stranger. 

She was focused intently on her people watching that it startled her when she felt someone grab her forearm and pull her towards them. She would have to add whiplash to the reasons she was feeling so drained. 

“Lincoln, this is my friend Lexa that I told you about. She’s living on the manor with her mum Indra. You guys would probably get along pretty well since you’re both into eating rabbit food and working out.” 

Lincoln extended his arm towards Lexa to shake and she was secretly thankful that she had wiped her sweaty palm onto her pants while Clarke was talking to him before. 

“Hey Lexa, nice to meet you. You must be something special from how much this one has talked about you. I look forward to getting to know you.” Lincoln looked genuine with his greeting but she wondered if he was telling the truth about Clarke or if he was just trying to tease her. She was used to that enough from Anya that she finds it hard to take people seriously sometimes. 

“You too, Clarke has told me a lot about you guys. Happy Birthday too, and thanks for letting me come to the party.”

“Thanks, and to be honest, I don’t know half the people here anyway. I’m not sure if Octavia invited them all or if stray people stumbled in through from the streets.” He laughed. 

“Where is the trouble maker anyway? I texted her and Finn, but I haven’t heard back from either of them.” Clarke reached into her bag to check her phone.

“Octavia probably left her phone upstairs, but she is floating around somewhere with Bell. I did see Finn earlier with a couple of guys, but I kind of avoided them. I think they are some of his friends from work and I really didn’t want to get dragged into a conversation about local politics.” 

“Thanks Linc, I’m going to head upstairs really quick so I don’t have to carry my bag all night. I’ll come find you again in a bit.” Clarke hugged him again and said goodbye while Lexa smiled and slightly waved at him. She couldn’t wait for her birthday to receive such open affection from the blonde. Sure, they got pretty close sometimes while they watched movies but it just wasn’t the same as feeling Clarkes body up against hers in a tight embrace. She really needed to stop having these thoughts with so many people close by or she would for sure give herself away. 

Lexa was more than slightly disappointed when Clarke didn’t grab her hand again and just motioned for her to follow through the kitchen and up the internal staircase. It wasn’t far from the kitchen though, so it did seem kind of pointless. Upstairs was a lot quieter and was clearly off limits to most of the people in the house. The walls still shook from the bass but she could hear a lot more clearly.

“Octavia’s room is just down the hall, I always leave my stuff in here when they have parties so feel free to leave whatever you want in here too. No one else comes up here so whatever you leave will be safe.” 

Clarke pushed open the bedroom door and they were met with a fairly standard looking bedroom. One that Lexa found pretty similar to Anya’s. 

“Just put whatever you want on the desk.” Clarke said taking her bag off her shoulder and setting it down next to a laptop. She quickly pulled out her phone again to check that she didn’t have anymore messages before huffing and putting it back into her bag.

“No point bringing this down and having to carry it if no one answers anyway.” She laughed dryly. 

Lexa decided to leave her jacket in the room since it wasn’t cold enough to wear it but opted to keep her phone on her in case her mum tried to contact her. 

“We better go find Octavia, I haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks and she was bugging me to find her as soon as I got here.” 

They went back downstairs and walked around the house aimlessly for five minutes before walking out the back door to the large back yard with a lot less people littering it. It only took them a few seconds to spot Finn talking to a slim brunette that looked a similar build to Lexa. Clarke lit up and started fast walking over to them.

“O, Finn! I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere”

So that’s Octavia. 

“Hey Clarkey!” The other brunette beamed, engulfing Clarke in a hug.

Lexa didn’t know weather to give Clarke a moment with her friends and find something else to do or awkwardly join the conversation. Her mind was made up for her when Clarke looked at her and waved her over. 

“Hey Babe, you look hot.” Finn scooped Clarke up in his arms and gave her a deep kiss that she reciprocated, making Lexa feel more uncomfortable than ever. Maybe she shouldn’t have come to the party and politely declined, but Clarke already had her wrapped around her finger. 

“Ugh” Octavia groaned then looked over at Lexa.

“Lexa right? I’m Octavia. It’s nice to meet you, all I’ve heard from Clarke in the last week has been about you.” Octavia gently punched the side of Lexa’s shoulder. 

“At least I have someone else to talk to now while these two are sucking face.” She laughed, making Lexa feel even more destroyed. 

She could barely think of what to say while trying to swallow the heavy feeling in her throat watching Clarke and Finn embrace. 

“Um, yeah that’s me. Clarke has told me a lot about you too.” Lexa awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Did you want to come inside and grab a drink while these two finish being gross?” 

Lexa looked over at Clarke to see if she was paying attention to anything other than her boyfriend and she felt her resolve crumble further if that was even possible. She never really cared for alcohol, but she felt like any distraction right now was welcomed. 

“Yeah, thanks, sounds good.” She mumbled.

Part of her was upset with Clarke for ditching her as soon as she ran into her boyfriend. She didn’t know anyone here and was always uncomfortable around new people, which she knew Clarke was aware of. But it still didn’t upset her as much as watching the two of them together. She had never really cared for someone before that was unobtainable and was really hating her bodies choices. 

They made it back into the kitchen, but Lincoln was nowhere to be found now. Probably off hiding from all of the strangers which is what Lexa would be doing if given the chance. Maybe she could sneak back into Octavia’s room later and sit in there until Clarke was ready to leave. 

“What would you like? We have pretty much everything” Octavia had half her body inside the fridge rummaging through the drinks. 

“Just a beer is fine thanks.” 

She heard the clanking of bottles before Octavia emerged from the fridge with two bottles of beer. She twisted the cap with practiced ease and handed it to Lexa.

“Here you go.” She smiled

They both took a long swig of their drinks, Lexa trying to make her sip last as long as possible, so she wouldn’t need to start a conversation. She had no idea what to say to the near stranger. All she knew about the other girl is what Clarke had told her over the last week. 

“Soo, I feel like I already know you after what Clarke has told me so it seems kind of pointless to ask you the usual questions.” Octavia smirked over her drink.

Uh oh, that is the kind of line Raven would pull when she was about to ask you something you probably didn’t want to answer. Lexa tried to refrain from choking on the small amount of beer left to swallow from her mouthful. Shit, did she already know how she felt about Clarke? Was it that Obvious?

Lexa’s reaction seemed to please Octavia though because her smirk turned into a large grin.

“Clarkey tells me that you’re into the ladies and you’re single. We should try and set you up with someone.”

Well that wasn’t the worst idea she’s ever heard. It would probably help get her mind off Clarke, that’s for sure. 

“Sure, why not” Lexa took a determined chug of her drink, almost finishing all of it before putting the bottle back down on the counter. 

“Awesome, I know the perfect person for you too. She’s hot, also single and very smart. Wait here, I’ll see if I can find her. Help yourself to the fridge” Octavia was still grinning like a Cheshire cat when she left. 

Lexa was really hoping it was someone she could be attracted to. But right now she wasn’t feeling particularly picky, she just needed to get a certain blonde out of her head. A few minutes passed without Octavia returning and Lexa had already finished her drink. She wondered what Clarke was up to, if she was even thinking about her or completely oblivious now that she was with her boyfriend. That thought alone had her reaching for the fridge door to grab another beer. She was part way through her mouthful when Octavia returned dragging a girl behind her that Lexa couldn’t see yet. 

She took another large mouthful of her beer right as Octavia neared her.

“Lexa, this is Costia. Costia, Lexa”

Lexa really shouldn’t have taken such a big swig of her drink before the introductions. She half spat, half inhaled the rest of her mouthful causing some of it to burn up into her sinuses. Did Octavia just say Costia?

When Octavia moved to the side and put her arm on the other girls back to push her towards Lexa, she realized that this was indeed her Costia. She was even more beautiful than she remembered, her honey coloured eyes were welling up slightly when she took in Lexa in front of her. The reunion turned out to be completely embarrassing though because Lexa was coughing up her lungs, trying to get the beer out that was stuck in her airways. 

“Lex?” Costia tentatively took another step towards her, extending her bent arm towards Lexa like she wanted to touch her, but was scared she would disappear if she did.

“Wait, you two know each other?” Octavia looked between the two girls while pounding on Lexa’s back with her palm to help get her coughing under control. 

“Yeah, we actually dated earlier on in high school before my family moved here.” Costia spoke almost so lightly that she couldn’t be heard over the music. 

“Shit, you guys don’t hate each other right? Or this could be really awkward.” Octavia was looking between the two girls with curiosity. 

Lexa would admit that it was a little bit awkward, not because she wasn’t happy to see Costia, but because of the way their reintroduction played out. 

“No, don’t worry, we ended on good terms. It’s really good to see you Cos.” Lexa smiled over at Costia, finally able to breath again without coughing. 

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to get reacquainted then. I better go and find Clarke. If Finns all over her still she’s probably starting to get irritated.” Octavia waved at them both before turning around and leaving. Although neither girl broke eye contact with each other to acknowledge Octavia.

“I can’t believe it’s actually you Lex. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. Can I hug you?” Costia was crying now and all Lexa wanted to do was scoop her up in her arms and comfort her. So, she did. Being back in Costia’s arms felt so comforting, like getting a hug from someone you care about after a really shitty day. 

“I’ve missed you too. How is everything, are you ok?” Lexa pulled back slightly without removing her arms from Costia’s waist so she could look at her. She knew the other girls living situation was less than ideal because of her parent’s homophobia, and she always worried about her. 

Costia pulled one arm back from around Lexa’s shoulders so she could wipe at the tears streaming down her face and tuck a loose strand of her light brown hair back over her ear. 

“After our last time together, when your mum brought you to say goodbye, I disowned my parents. I still lived with them of course since I wasn’t old enough to leave home. But as soon as I turned 16, I got a job to start saving money. When one of my co-workers offered me a room at their house, I packed up my stuff and left. I worked as much as I could around school, my friend Luna from work tried to support me as much as she could too.” Costia was crying even more now than before, Lexa could barely keep up wiping away her tears with her thumbs, so she reached over the counter to grab some paper towel for her. 

She could tell that Costia wasn’t done talking, so she carefully squeezed the side of her arm to let her know she was listening. 

“They didn’t even care when I left Lex! Every time I ran into them around town they would pretend they didn’t know me. But I’m happier now than I’ve ever been, I can finally be myself.” 

Costia slipped her arms back under Lexa’s rested her head on her chest. 

“It’s so amazing to see you again. I never thought I would. I’m so sorry for everything you had to go through for me.” She mumbled into Lexa’s chest.

Lexa put her hand on the back of Costia’s head and rested her cheek on the top. 

“None of it was your fault Cos. You wouldn’t have let any of that happen if you could have controlled it. But your life is your own now, and you deserve every bit of happiness.” 

Costia pulled back slightly to wipe away the rest of her tears, offering Lexa a small, reserved smile like she used to when she was shy all of those years ago. Lexa was too focused on the happiness she felt seeing her ex again and trying to comfort her that it took her completely by surprise when Costia cupped the side of her face with both her hands and leaned in to kiss her. It happened so fast that she wouldn’t have been able to stop it if she wanted to. But did she really not want it to? 

She loved this girl so much once upon a time. If she really thought about it, she would never stop loving her. But when she first saw her it wasn’t an all-consuming love that she was feeling, it was happiness that she was alive and well. Still, she couldn’t deny that the feeling of someone else’s lips moving against hers was welcoming, but when she opened her eyes and didn’t see the magnificent ocean blue eyes and blonde hair that she was crazy for, it felt wrong. 

Even after the realization, she didn’t want to break off the kiss too early and risk upsetting Costia. She could tell that the other girl needed this. So, after a couple of minutes, she gently caressed Costia’s cheek and pulled back from her lips. When she did, she noticed a pair of blue eyes burning into her from the other side of the kitchen. Clarke was standing in the doorway with a look of hurt on her face, watching them for who knows how long. 

Shit, Finn must have upset her or something. Lexa was torn between comforting Costia or going to Clarke. Costia noticed Lexa’s distant stare and turned around. When she did, scorching blue eyes almost burned a hole through her face. Why was Clarke mad at Costia? She probably didn’t even realise who she was. It’s not like Clarke has any reason to be upset that Lexa is with one of her friends after being ditched by the blonde earlier in the evening. 

“Lexa? Is that someone you know?” Costia broke eye contact with Clarke and looked back at Lexa, who she still had one of her arms wrapped around. 

“Um, yeah that’s my friend Clarke. Mum and I sort of live with her family on their manor outside of town. She’s good friends with Octavia and Lincoln.”

“Oh, she sort of looks mad, or upset, or something. Did you want to go talk to her?” Costia retracted her arm from around Lexa and pulled out her phone.

“Do you think I could have your phone number? So we could catch up and talk or something? I would love to see your mum again too. This is all just so unreal.” She tentatively held out her phone for Lexa to input her details.

“Sure, I know mum would be over the moon to see you too. She always loved you.” Lexa smiled at her and quickly put her phone number in before handing the phone back to Costia. 

“I better go talk to Clarke, her boyfriend probably pissed her off or something. I would love for you guys to meet at some stage too, but I feel like right now isn’t the best time.” She chuckled. 

“That sounds great, I’ll text you tomorrow. Bye Lex.” Costia kissed Lexa’s cheek and started walking towards the doorway where Clarke was still frozen, watching the interaction. The light-haired brunette tried to offer Clarke a smile on her way out but was completely ignored. 

Right after Costia disappeared back into the party, Lexa started walking towards Clarke but was met with the back of her head while the blonde stormed off. She tried pushing her way through the crowd to follow Clarke but didn’t see what direction she went off in. What the hell did I do? She thought to herself.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter starts when Clarke and Lexa first split off at the party, but follows Clarke. 
> 
> Something a lot of people were waiting for happens in this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! :)

Being at the party with her best friends, her boyfriend and Lexa was a lot more exciting than she originally thought it would be. All of the people she cared about most aside from her parents in one place. She was still trying to blame the feeling she felt while holding Lexa’s hand on her excitement to see her friends but a large part of her was wishing she didn’t have to let go. Clarke knew that Lexa would have no problem getting along with most of her friends, but she was worried that Finn would put on his protective macho act around a new face. 

“O, Finn! I’ve been looking for you guys everywhere” she dashed towards Octavia first.

“Hey Clarkey!” Octavia replied, returning her hug with equal fervour. 

She was barely done saying hello to her friend before her Finn was pulling her towards him. 

“Hey Babe, you look hot.” Finn wrapped his arms around her and it took her by surprise how quickly he kissed her. Usually, he wasn’t too interested in kissing unless he was hoping it would go further. It felt nice to be wanted by him though, so she kissed him back.

“Thanks Finn, I’ve missed you. Maybe we could go out to lunch sometime next week and talk? It’s been forever since we have just sat down and had a normal conversation.” She smiled at him, not stepping away and staying in his embrace. 

“You know I can’t do that Clarke, most days I work through lunch or we all eat together in the office.”

Clarke knew he was lying about working through lunch, he would never miss a meal if his life depended on it. 

“Ok, maybe some other time then. I just miss talking to you in person. Most of the time when you come over we watch a movie and you get mad when I try and talk to you.” She dropped eye contact with him for a moment, not wanting him to see how upset she was making him. 

“I know, I’m sorry babe. It’s just work has been so hectic lately that whenever I have time off, I like to relax and not have to think about anything.” He put a finger under her chin to look into her eyes before talking again.

“How about Tuesday next week you meet me in Polis and we go out to dinner? A couple of friends from work wanted to try this new bar that just opened. Then, afterwards we could go back to your parent’s apartment and get, reacquainted.” He winked and lightly kissed the side of her neck. 

Less than a minute ago, Clarke was upset. Now, she was pissed. But she really didn’t want to have a fight with Finn in front of Lexa and Octavia. So she turned and was just about to ask the two girls if she could have a minute alone with Finn before she realised that they were already gone. Her heart sank knowing that Lexa had left. She really hoped that she went with Octavia and didn’t just wander off by herself. Knowing what Lexa was like with strangers, if she had left by herself then she was probably already upset or feeling uncomfortable.

“You really don’t understand, do you?” She snapped at him.

Finn looked slightly scared and actually flinched at Clarkes response. 

“When was it that I lost my friend and was just left with a boyfriend? You don’t seem to give a shit about our friendship anymore. When we’re around other people, you only care about showing me off! When we’re alone, all you care about is sex or talking about yourself!” Luckily for Clarke, the only other people in the yard were drunk and couldn’t distinguish her words from the loud music. 

“You know that’s not true Clarke. I just don’t have time for you like I did when we were in school! I can’t just drop everything whenever you want to, what? talk about your day?” He scoffed, folding his arms over his chest and looking around the yard to avoid eye contact. 

“When did you change Finn? You used to love hearing about my day and actually gave a shit about what was going on with me. Our relationship has ruined our friendship!” She motioned between the two of them. 

“Well maybe you need to change too Clarke! School’s finished, we have to start thinking about building our futures.” He scoffed.

“Tell me about this future you are building for yourself. Or should I say, the one your mum has built for you. Does it include me or am I just along for the ride whenever you need to blow off some steam?”

“You know what? Fuck you. If it wasn’t for your parents, you wouldn’t be able to study at that ridiculously expensive art school, which I should add is a complete waste of a career choice.” 

“How about you find someone else to fuck you from now on? Because I’m done with this! I’m sick of you not supporting me and only being your girlfriend when it’s convenient for you. It’s over Finn.” Clarke spun around and started walking away.

“What?! Clarke, you can’t be serious! We were fine five minutes ago. This is just a bump in the road, don’t walk away, talk to me.” He reached out to grab her arm.

Clarke laughed and swallowed the sharp lump in her throat. “Wake up Finn. We weren’t fine five minutes ago. Hell, we weren’t even fine five months ago. We were better at being friends then we ever were being in a romantic relationship. Let it go. Let me go.” She pulled her arm away from him. 

“Take some time to remember what life was like before we started dating, without the extra pressure and let me know when you are ready to be friends again.” Clarke walked back to the house as quickly as she could before he could try and drag her back into the conversation. 

Clarke didn’t know weather she felt relieved or distressed at the new turn of events. If she stopped to actually think about it, she would probably find it was a bit of both. But she didn’t want to think about it right now, all she wanted was a very strong drink. She found Lincoln again with a group of people she didn’t recognize, hesitant to join them before she saw the bottle of vodka in his hands.

They were right in the middle of the living room where you could barely hear the person next to you if they yelled right in your ear, so she motioned to the bottle. She saw him taking her in for a moment with a silent question in his eyes, but she brushed him off with a small smile and a nod. None of the other people in the group seemed to care about the new addition, so she stood in closer to Lincoln and took the cup he offered her. 

“Thanks” She mouthed to him before taking a very large gulp. 

She didn’t realise that he hadn’t mixed anything in with the drink until she felt the warm burn creeping down her throat. It seemed to help clear up the heaviness she was holding there though, so she really didn’t mind. After slowly sipping at the strong liquid in the cup and watching people dance and make out around her, she felt a wave of guilt come over her. She had completely forgotten about Lexa.

Lately that would have been an impossible feat since the brunette was on her mind more than half the time, but the argument with Finn really did a number on her. She felt her heart sink and the need to find her friend took over every other thought in her head. Scanning the crowd as fast as she could, she found Octavia talking to Bellamy on the other side of the room. Octavia was the last person she saw with Lexa, but she was no where in sight. She knew her best friend wasn’t the type of person to ditch someone, although she wouldn’t consider herself someone who would either, but look where she was now. 

Clarke got Lincolns attention and pointed over to Octavia, so he knew where she was headed. He helped by pushing a couple of his friends to the side, so she could slip past them and ask Octavia where Lexa was. She had a one-track mind while approaching the Blake siblings and was taken completely off guard when Bellamy pulled her into a hug. 

“I’ve been looking for you all night princess. Although I must admit, when Octavia told me she left you with Finn, I stopped looking.” He laughed, pulling back to look at her. 

They both must have noticed the faraway look on Clarkes face because a moment later they turned serious, leaning down and each placing a hand on one of her shoulders. 

“Clarke?” Octavia spoke just loud enough to be heard over the music without startling her. 

“Are you alright.” Bellamy asked

She really didn’t want to break down in front of her friends, and they were making it incredibly difficult by treating her with such kindness. If she was being honest with herself, all she wanted right now was to be embraced by one of Lexa’s warm hugs. One that she probably didn’t deserve after how she had treated her. She could only hope that Lexa would forgive her after explaining the situation. 

“Yeah, I just got into a fight with Finn as usual but I’m ok.” She half lied but knew that her friends would accept that answer.

“O, do you know where Lexa is?” 

“Yeah I introduced her to a friend of mine that I thought she would get along with. Turns out, they already knew each other!” Octavia beamed, clearly impressed with herself.

Well at least she wasn’t alone, Clarke thought to herself. 

“Oh, ok. I really want to find her though. Where did you see her last?”

Octavia and Bellamy shared a look, confused at how their friend was acting. 

“In the kitchen. By the way they were talking I doubt they have gone anywhere either.”

She barely let Octavia finish the sentence before she started moving towards the kitchen. Normally she would have expected Bellamy to be on her heels wanting to comfort her at this kind of behaviour. But she was glad to find that she wasn’t being followed. Approaching the kitchen, she pushed past a few people lazing around the doorway who were obviously too drunk to care about their new positioning. 

Clarke deflated after looking around the kitchen and not finding Lexa. The only people she found was a loud couple chugging their drinks from the fridge one after the other, a group of girls laughing in the corner and two girls making out up against the back counter. Interested, she watched the girls for a moment until the lighter haired girl moved to the side slightly and revealed dark brunette curls behind her that Clarke has become familiar with. 

The jealous part of her wanted to rush forward and break them apart, but she knew she had no right to do that. While another part of her was starting to get turned on watching the two girls softly make out. Her head is spinning because of the mixed emotions running through her. Why is Lexa kissing this girl? Who is she, and how does she know her? And more importantly, why does Clarke immediately hate this girl and wish she was her all at the same time. 

Finn never kissed her so tenderly so maybe she was just jealous that this other girl was on the receiving end of something she could only dream about. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Lexa, none. Even as she stood there lying to herself, she was becoming more and more angry by the second, but felt as if her feet were cemented into the floor, stopping her from leaving the doorway. 

Her heart stopped momentarily when Lexa pulled back from the kiss and magnificent green eyes looked at her concerned. She felt awkward that she was spotted watching them and only hoped that Lexa didn’t know she was there the whole time. She watched the other girl pull out her phone and hand it to Lexa, asking for her phone number. If they knew each other well enough to make out after being together for such a short amount of time, wouldn’t they already be in contact?. Clarke could feel her blood boiling and wanted to push the other girls face away from Lexa before she could kiss her friend’s cheek. 

She really hoped that Lexa didn’t try to introduce this girl to her because she really wasn’t in the mood to pretend to like her for Lexa’s sake. As they finished saying goodbye, Clarke could feel the mystery girl’s eyes on her as she walked in her direction but refused to make eye contact. Hell, she wanted to slap her, not have a conversation with her. All Clarke could look at was Lexa, who seemed to be trying to read her and figure out what was wrong. 

Just as the other girl left the room, Lexa started walking towards Clarke, causing her to panic. She had momentarily forgotten why she was looking for her in the first place and didn’t want to have to explain the looks she was throwing her way. She could barely explain them herself. So she quickly turned on her heels before the brunette had a chance to reach her, and bolted out of the room into the thickness of the crowd. She had no idea where she was going, but just wanted to put as much space as possible between them. 

She couldn’t believe that she just ditched Lexa all over again, but she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to have a discussion with her, or anyone really. After making her way towards the study downstairs, hoping to get some time to herself to think, she ran into Finn in the deserted hallway.

“Clarke. Wait, wait, wait. Don’t leave again, please!” He pleaded.

Tonight, really wasn’t her night. If someone had told her before she left the party that this is what she was in for, she definitely would have stayed home. 

“Fuck, seriously.” She mumbled under her breath. 

She could feel tears threatening to break free from her eyes. Finn was the absolute last person she wanted to run into right now. 

“I said all that I needed to say to you right now. If you care about me at all, you’ll leave me alone.” She pleaded.

But Finn being a lot more inebriated then he was when they last spoke, ignored her. He was walking towards her like he was on a mission and all she could do was keep backing up and asking him to stop. He roughly grabbed her arm and was just about to pull her towards him before Clarke felt herself being swiftly but gently pulled back from around the waist, and saw an arm flying out to forcefully push Finn back. 

She felt soft, slender fingers on the side of her face guided her to worried green eyes.

“Clarke are you ok?” Lexa brought her other hand up and cupped her face so gently that she would barely feel it if it wasn’t for the comfortable warmth that accompanied it. 

No sounds were coming out of her mouth now apart from sobs as she shook her head and finally let her tears fall. 

“What the fuck! Who the hell are you to lay a finger on me!” Finn slurred, trying to regain his footing. 

Lexa straightened up and shielded Clarke with her body, making sure she was safe before acknowledging Finn. 

“Finn you’re not in the right mind to talk to Clarke right now. Can’t you see that you’re hurting her?” Lexa pulled one of her arms back, so she could wrap it around Clarke behind her.

“This is none of your business, you’ve known Clarke for what, a few days?” He spat

“When you try to lay your unwanted hands on my friend, it becomes my business.” Lexa stands a bit taller.

Finn laughs at that and Clarke really just wants to disappear. 

“You know what? she’s all yours. I knew she would leave me for a girl one day, but I always thought it would be for that bitch Niylah. She admitted to me she had feelings for her, but I brushed it off. God I’m an idiot.” 

Clarke really wanted to give Finn a piece of her mind and tell him that liking girls didn’t stop her from liking boys either. If Finn was a girl and had been acting like this, the situation would have been exactly the same. But saying anything at this stage would only make things worse, and she just wanted to get out of there. Lexa looked like she was about to argue back with him, so she gently placed her hand on the brunette’s shoulder to get her attention. 

Lexa’s vicious features immediately softened when she turned around to face Clarke. 

“Lex can we leave please? I can’t be here anymore.” She pleaded.

“Whatever you need.” Lexa whispered and pushed some of the stray hair off Clarkes face behind her ear before turning back to face Finn. 

“We are going to turn around and leave now. If you so much as take one step towards us while I can still see you, I will fucking break you. Understood?” Lexa’s gaze was menacing and under any other circumstance, Clarke might have found it terrifying. But after seeing Finn practically cower at it, she felt completely safe. 

Clarke felt Lexa’s hand against her hip, urging her to walk forward while keeping her away from Finn if he stupidly decided to try anything. After rounding the corner and coming back to the party, Lexa took her hand and guided them in the direction of the stairs. She felt horrible for dragging Lexa into all of this and was starting to worry that she wouldn’t want to be friends anymore. Once they got to the top of the stairs, they went into Octavia’s room to gather their things. 

Feeling absolutely drained, Clarke sat on Octavia’s bed to try and calm down enough to say goodbye to her friends before leaving. She knew they would forgive her for leaving, given the situation, but she wasn’t sure when she would be back in Polis and wanted to see them again before she left. Lexa sat down on the bed next to her but didn’t say anything, acknowledging that she needed a moment to process everything.

“I’m so sorry Lexa, you shouldn’t have had to do that. I invited you to come out tonight and then it turned into a complete shitstorm.” Clarke hung her head.

“Don’t apologise, if anyone should be apologising, it should be Finn.” Lexa rested her hand on the blonde’s knee. 

“I don’t like who he’s turned into now. Every time I look at him or hear him speak, I swear I’m looking at a stranger who stole my friend’s face. Hopefully now that we have broken up, he will go back to the friend I lost” Clarke sighed

She felt Lexa’s hand tense on her knee slightly before the brunette spoke.

“So, it’s true? you guys broke up? I wasn’t sure if he was just drunk and saying nonsense” Clarke nodded at Lexa in leu of speaking. 

“I’m sorry Clarke, break ups are shit but I’m here for whatever you need. Weather you need someone to talk to or just a good old-fashioned distraction. I know your Netflix preferences enough by now to create a good one.” 

“Thanks Lexa” Clarke turned and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, feeling Lexa’s arms around her waist in return. 

She melted into the brunettes embrace for a few minutes, both girls silent but enjoying the comfort. Clarke could feel Lexa’s pulse going into overdrive but figured it must have been from the encounter with Finn. She finally pulled herself back from Lexa and wiped the last of her stray tears with the back of her hand. 

“Do you think you could go and Find Octavia for me? I don’t really want to wander around the party looking for her and I’d really like to leave.” Clarke asked

“Sure thing” Lexa squeezed her hand before getting up and walking out of the bedroom, careful to close the door softly behind her. 

Clarke gathered both her and Lexa’s things and was scrolling through an artists page on Instagram to try and dull her thoughts during the five minutes it took for both girls to come back upstairs. There was a quiet knock on the door which seemed a bit unnecessary to Clarke, but she knew how polite Lexa was and would have insisted. Heck, it was one of the things she liked about her. 

When both the brunettes walked into the room, Lexa stood off to the side to give the best friends a moment. Before Clarke could even say a word, Octavia almost tackled her over with how powerful her hug was. Being in her friends arms almost caused her to start crying again, but she had to refrain if she wanted to get out of there any time soon. 

“You don’t need to say anything Clarke, Lexa gave me a run down after she found me. I just hope you’re ok, and I’m here whenever you want to talk, ok?” 

“Thanks O, I’m sorry for leaving so early. Can you please apologise to Lincoln for me and wish him a happy birthday again?”

“Sure thing. I better get back downstairs, Bellamy overheard Lexa and I talking and is on a warpath looking for Finn.” 

Clarke flinched and was just about to talk before Octavia cut her off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no one get’s hurt. Just focus on yourself right now ok, I’ll handle the rest.” 

“I couldn’t have asked for a better friend, thank you. I owe you.” 

“You don’t owe me anything, it’s what friends are for.”

Octavia stood up and helped Clarke up by her arms, giving her one last hug before turning to Lexa. Neither girl said anything to each other but were silently communicating through body language. Clarke knew that Octavia was asking Lexa to take care of her, and from the looks Lexa was giving, she wasn’t going to have it any other way. 

“Call me when you get home tomorrow. Or if you’re still not ready to talk just send me a message or something.” Octavia said

“Sure thing” Clarke weakly smiled.

After Octavia stormed out of the room, Lexa insisted on carrying all their things like Clarke was physically incapable. She shielded her from the numerous bodies in their way through the front door and they walked in silence to the car. Clarke was just about to get into the driver’s side when Lexa held open the passenger side for her and motioned for her to get in. She had only seen the brunette drinking one beer so didn’t fight her decision to get behind the wheel.

Watching the softness of the streetlights illuminating the dark sky caused Clarke to fall into a light slumber. It wasn’t until she heard Lexa’s voice calmly calling her name that she woke up and realised they were already back at the apartment. They went into the building and up to the apartment as silent as the car ride. It wasn’t an awkward silence, and Clarke was glad that Lexa wasn’t pushing her to speak. 

Clarke felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders as soon as she stepped foot into the living room. Nothing could touch her here, it was quiet and just what she needed right now. 

“Why don’t I run you a bath, so you can relax while I find us something to eat?” Lexa suggested

“That sounds heavenly, thanks.” Clarke weakly smiled.

“Sure. Did you want to wait in your room while I get it ready?” 

Clarke nodded and followed Lexa to the main bedroom. She sat down on one of the chairs in the corner of the room and took off her shoes while Lexa disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of running water filling up the bathtub was calling to Clarke and she couldn’t wait to get in. She also picked up on the aroma of lavender wafting around the room, calming her further. 

When the light turned off in the bathroom she became intrigued, wondering if the bulb had blown. So she padded across the room and noticed a soft orange light flickering off the walls near the handwashing basin. Her heart squeezed in her chest when she realised that Lexa had lit some candles for her and placed them around the room. She could feel the steam of the hot water surrounding her from the doorway and she wanted nothing more right now than to be in that bathtub. 

“This is amazing Lexa. You didn’t have to go to this amount of trouble though.”

Lexa jumped slightly, obviously not hearing Clarke approach.

“It’s no problem at all. This is how I like to de stress after a bad day, and I figured tonight was probably pretty crappy for you.” She laughed lightly, trying to lighten the mood. 

“I don’t know what else to say. You’re the best.” 

Clarke noticed that the tub was almost completely full now, so she reached around her back and started sliding the zipper down her dress. Lexa turned for a split second until she realised what Clarke was doing and returned her eyes to the tub like she was studying it. Unfortunately for Clarke though, she couldn’t get the rest of the zipper down her back because it was stuck at the seams. 

“Lexa?”

“Yes Clarke?” 

“Could you help me with my zipper? It’s stuck.” She pouted

Clarke could see Lexa take a deep breath before turning off the tap and getting to her feet. Obviously she must be tired after their day too. She turned her back to the brunette so she would have access to the zipper and patiently waited for Lexa to dry the bath water off her hands. Slender fingers brushed Clarkes hair to one side of her neck before trailing down her back to find the zipper. It was dark in the room without the light on, which is probably why Lexa was feeling where she needed to go. 

She was expecting to feel tugging coming from behind her, knowing how much she struggled when her zippers got stuck. But she was pleasantly surprised when she felt warm fingers softly brush against her back for mere seconds before she heard the rest of the zipper sliding down. Part of her was disappointed that the encounter didn’t take too long as she missed Lexa’s warmth as soon as it was gone. 

“All done. I’ll wait in the living room for you until you’re done. Is there anything that you don’t like to eat? So, I don’t end up feeding you something you hate.” Lexa chucked nervously, her eyes never dipping below Clarkes face to look at the dress now hugging her loosely. 

“No, I’m fine with anything.”

Lexa started leaving the room before Clarke softly grabbed her wrist.

“Thank you Lexa. For everything. This is all amazing and means more than you know.” Clarke motions around the room. 

“You’re welcome Clarke.” Lexa smiled before leaving the room. 

Clarke quickly shucked off her dress and underwear and put her toes in the bath to test the temperature. It was perfect, just like Lexa, Clarke thought to herself. She lowered the rest of her body into the bath and let out a content moan when the warm, scented water surrounded her. Her head rested against a small bunched up towel that Lexa must have left for her and she had to try and fight off falling asleep. 

She didn’t want to think about what transpired tonight right now, it had already taken up enough of her energy and she barely had any left to spare. But the bath was certainly helping with that. All her mind kept drifting towards was the beautiful and caring brunette out in the kitchen. She wondered who the girl was that Lexa was kissing tonight, and selfishly hoped that it wasn’t anyone important. Sure, she wanted her friend to be happy. But whenever she thought about it, she felt incredibly jealous. 

Maybe she would have to talk to Lexa about her feelings and talk to her more about her sexuality. Her crush on Niylah in high school was just that, a crush. She never explored it and thought it would probably just go away with time. But what she was starting to feel for Lexa was making all of those confusing feelings resurface again. Since she was loyal to Finn while they were together, she didn’t let herself think anymore about that. With all of the pressure she was feeling to be with Finn, she thought it was how her life was going to stay. 

But after tonight, she made the decision for herself and didn’t care about what anyone else wanted. She wasn’t going to put up with it anymore. 

Her fingers started getting wrinkly being submerged in the water for a little while now, so she decided she better get out and see if Lexa needs any help. She towelled herself off in the bathroom before going into the bedroom and slipping on her pyjama shirt and shorts. When she opened the door, she could hear Lexa in the kitchen pulling plates out of the cupboard. 

She smiled at the brunette working around the kitchen like a natural, humming a tune to herself. When she turned around and saw Clarke, a big smile appeared on her face.

“How was your bath?” 

“Amazing. Thank you again, it’s just what I needed.” She returned Lexa’s smile

“Good.” Lexa nodded

“There weren’t many groceries, so I just made us a fruit salad and some sandwiches. I hope that’s ok.” She smiled shyly. 

“It’s perfect.” Clarke responded, rounding the kitchen counter to help Lexa carry plates to the table.

They sat opposite to each other at the table and both ate very quickly. It was starting to get late now, and they hadn’t really eaten since earlier on in the day. Clarke took all of the plates into the kitchen to wash them because she already felt guilty at how much Lexa had done for her. Lexa had ducked into her bedroom to get changed while Clarke was cleaning up. 

She just finished putting everything away when Lexa came back into the kitchen, her hair flowing gently over one shoulder. She was wearing a loose pair of grey track pants and a black singlet that gave Clarke a generous view of her arm muscles. 

“Did you want to watch a movie with me in my room? It’s ok if you’re tired and just want to go to bed though” Clarke asked shyly.

“That sounds nice, but I probably won’t make it through the whole movie.” Lexa laughed, following Clarke into her bedroom. 

Clarke plonked less than gracefully into the bed and took the TV remote from her bedside table. She was a bit disappointed that Lexa was right on the opposite side of the large bed. They always sat much closer on the couch, so she was hoping that this would have been the same. Not wanting to spend an hour flicking through the movies, Clarke opted to put on Finding Nemo. 

After first scene of the movie, Clarke shuffled closer to the middle of the bed, hoping that Lexa would take the invitation to do the same. Unfortunately for her, she stayed just where she was and seemed to be concentrating on the movie more than anything else.

She started to panic slightly thinking that Lexa was mad at her because of the party. Maybe she was happy with the girl she was making out with and was pissed off the Clarke disrupted it. She really should have just walked away when she realized that it was Lexa.

“I’m sorry for taking you away from your friend earlier.” Clarke kept her eyes trained on the screen, scared that Lexa might not respond.

“Oh, that’s ok. You actually came at the right time.” Lexa glanced over at Clarke quickly before returning her eyes to the screen.

“Why’s that? You guys looked like you were getting pretty close.” Clarke tried not to let her words come out too harsh. 

“I guess I should start by mentioning that the girl from earlier is Costia.” Lexa rubbed the back of her neck.

Wait, Costia? Lexa’s ex Costia? Clarke was even more jealous than before now. But at the same time, she was happy for Lexa, she knew after their conversations that they had lost contact and it always upsetted her.

“Oh wow, how lucky was it for you to run into her! Octavia mentioned that they were friends too. It’s such a small world. But wait, why did I turn up at the right time then?” Clarke was suddenly feeling hopeful. 

“Well, it was amazing seeing her and all. But I think she was hoping that we would just pick up where we left off. When she kissed me, I wasn’t expecting it and it didn’t feel like it used to when we were together. I felt more obligated then anything, and I was sort of dreading the conversation afterwards. I would love to see her again and hang out, but I’m not in love with her anymore.”

“It seems tonight was doomed to be an awkward relationship night.” Clarke laughed

“Yeah, I think it was.” 

Lexa looked lost in thought now, no longer focusing on the movie. 

“Come here, I think we both need this.” Clarke dragged Lexa to the middle of the bed and cuddled into her side. 

She noticed that Lexa’s heartbeat was still beating abnormally fast and hoped that she was feeling ok after the day. But she relaxed into the embrace, so Clarke didn’t think she was upset by the gesture. 

Half way through the movie, Clarke felt herself drifting off to sleep. Lexa reached over her to grab the remote and turn off the TV before she started slipping out of bed. 

“Wait. You don’t have to go. Stay here?” Clarke asked hopefully. 

Lexa seemed to think about it for a moment, looking into Clarkes eyes before making up her mind and slipping back into the bed next to her. 

“Ok. Get some sleep though. Goodnight Clarke” 

“Night Lex”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter took me so long! We had someone move in with us for just over a month and they were occupying the room that I get a lot of my writing done in! The next chapters definitely won't take as long. The first part of the chapter is a little bit smutty so skip it if you don't want to read that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Lexa woke up confused, feeling something light brush against her face, and a warm hand splayed out across her stomach. It didn’t take long for her to remember where she was and whose golden hair was the source of the sensation on her face. Just before she fell asleep last night, Clarke unknowingly hooked an arm and a leg over her and tucked her head under Lexa’s chin. She didn’t want to move and risk waking her up, knowing how difficult the night was. So, she wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist and nestled her nose into her hair. The smell of the lavender she put in her bath earlier in the night, and the sweetness of Clarkes conditioner lulled her to sleep shortly after the girl in her arms did. 

But this morning, even though she was enjoying the closeness, Clarkes hands were being adventurous, and Lexa was struggling to keep her body under control. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, and she only hoped that it didn’t wake up the sleeping girl. She was enjoying the feeling and didn’t want it to end too suddenly. It became harder and harder though as a soft hand found its way under her shirt and started circling just under her navel. Lexa swore that she has never been so turned on in her life and it frustrated her that she couldn’t do anything about it right now. 

Maybe she could sneak off to the bathroom without Clarke realising and sooth the throbbing between her legs. Her mind was drifting off, thinking of how it would feel if those fingers were only a few inches lower. Light moaning reverberating off her chest broke her fantasy and brought her back to the very real reason for her fantasies. Clarke must have been dreaming of something pleasant because she picked up the pace of her circling and Lexa was trying her hardest not to let out her own moan. 

She bit her bottom lip to stop the sounds coming out and stayed as still as she could, letting Clarke ride out her dream. Her eyes drifted down to where the blondes hand was, and she could no longer hold in the moan that was bunched up at the back of her throat. It didn’t take long for Lexa to notice Clarkes hard nipples pushing against her shirt, making her ache to roll them between her fingers. Clarke’s soft, pink lips opened slightly and let out another moan while her face simultaneously scrunched up. 

Lexa didn’t know if she could cum from not even being touched, but damn was she already extremely close. By the looks of the blonde writhing against her, it looked like she was just as close herself. She was barely thinking about the consequences of what was going to happen when Clarke woke up and found her flushed and aroused. Part of her felt bad for thinking of Clarke like this and knew she should have gotten up before it progressed this far. She wasn’t hers, they are only friends after all, and Clarke just broke up with her boyfriend. 

This helped clear Lexa’s thoughts slightly before Clarke’s body started lightly grinding against her and pinching where her hand was circling previously. It went on for another minute, causing Lexa to lose her mind before Clarke suddenly stilled and let out a soft, drawn-out moan. ‘Holy shit, Holy shit, Clarke just came pushed up against me’. That deep, throaty moan would follow Lexa to the end of her life, and she knew she never wanted to forget the sound. She was extremely turned on now and knew it wouldn’t take more than a light breeze to bring her to orgasm. But now she was worried that Clarke was going to wake up and find a hot mess beside her. 

Someone somewhere must have been feeling sorry for Lexa though, because after Clarkes breathing returned to normal, she turned over to the other side of the bed and curled up against a pillow. Lexa stayed completely still for a little while longer, trying to convince herself that it wasn’t all just a dream. But the sticky uncomfortableness between her legs won out and she dragged herself out of bed and towards the room she was supposed to sleep in. That she should have slept in, she thought. 

How was she supposed to look at Clarke the same after that? How was she supposed to pretend that the most erotic thing that ever happened to her, never happened? There is no way in hell that she could tell Clarke about it. Fuck. It was times like this that she really missed living in the same town as her best friend. Even if she ended up being teased about it, at least she would have someone to talk to about her feelings. Maybe she could call Raven later and avoid listening to Anya laugh every time she tried to speak. 

She locked the door to the bedroom to avoid any more uncomfortable situations before she started stripping off her clothes on her way to the bathroom. In her eagerness to get in the shower she almost tripped a few times before finally shutting herself in and turning on the water. As soon as the warm water hit her skin she sighed and let it envelop her completely. As much as she tried to think about something other than Clarkes pleasure filled dream, there was no use. 

Lexa kept wondering what she was dreaming about. Was it Finn?. That thought just about caused her to growl out loud. It was completely unlikely, but what if Clarke was dreaming about her? The pounding between her legs increased as she let her mind wander through the what ifs. Her hand slowly travelled down her neck, over her chest to cup and lightly squeeze her right breast before wandering lower over her abs and closer to where she needed it. Her left hand pushed up against the tiles to ground herself. 

She closed her eyes and let her mind re-live the situation that happened less than 10 minutes ago. When her hand finally reached her centre to find slick, wet heat she sighed into the touch and started lightly running two fingers up the sides of her clit. Worried that she would cum straight away if she put direct contact on her bud of nerves, Lexa prolonged her teasing. But barely a minute passed before she gave into her bodies desires and started quickly circling her clit. She bit down on her fist when she felt herself nearing the edge and let out a long groan when the immense pleasure of her orgasm washed over her. 

Trying to catch her breath, she rested the side of her flushed cheek against the cool tiles and closed her eyes momentarily. Part of her felt bad for giving into her urges but the other part knew that she wouldn’t have been able to resist for long. Sated for the moment, Lexa finished cleaning up and stepped out of the shower. She quickly threw on some clothes and pulled her drying hair up into a ponytail before going back out into the kitchen. Her mind was still racing thinking about everything that has happened in the last 24 hours that she initially didn’t notice Clarke in the kitchen until she spoke. 

“Morning, sorry that I slept in. I hope you weren’t up for too long already.” Clarke softly smiled at her. 

“Hey! Um, nope I just got up and had a quick shower” Lexa smiled back awkwardly and tried to avoid direct eye contact, feeling embarrassed and fumbling with the phone in her hand. 

“Cool, cool. Would you like some toast? I was just about to make some?” 

“Sure, that sounds nice, thanks.” 

Lexa wasn’t sure why Clarke was acting so strangely this morning, but between the two of them it was starting to get a little bit awkward. Whenever she spoke to Lexa she almost looked as if she was blushing, and she was usually a lot more talkative. Maybe she was still upset about last night. It also didn’t help that Lexa didn’t know what to say since all she could think about was what Clarke sounded like when she came. 

Thankfully, her phone chimed and offered her a legitimate distraction. 

Marcus [10:41am] – Hi Lexa, I thought it might be easier to text you just in case you were asleep or driving. Your mum mentioned to me when we spoke last night that you were in Polis. I would love to meet up with you and take you out to lunch if you aren’t too busy. Let me know. 

It has been almost a year since she’s seen Marcus and she would be lying if the idea of seeing him didn’t make her happy. But she did come with Clarke after all and didn’t want to put her out. 

“Clarke?” She looked up over phone and was surprised to see the blonde already looking at her and trying hard to make it seem like she wasn’t. 

“What’s up, does your mum want you back early?” Clarke quickly finished spreading avocado onto two pieces of toast and handed one to Lexa. 

“No, I was actually wondering if you’d mind if I went out to lunch with someone before we head back?” 

She didn’t miss the flash of disappointment on Clarkes face that she obviously tried to hide with a large bite into her toast. 

“Sure, I should probably go back and help Octavia Lincoln clean up after the party anyway. Did you want a ride somewhere?” 

“Well I was thinking you could come too if you wanted?” Lexa took a seat on the kitchen stool and started eating her breakfast, watching the thoughts run through Clarkes head. The last thing she wanted to do was upset her, but as the conversation progressed, Lexa noticed it was getting harder for Clarke to hide it. 

“Don’t be silly Lexa. I’m not going to crash your date.” Clarke said turning back and distracting herself with the dishes. 

Date? Is that why Clarke was upset. Surely she wasn’t upset with the idea of Lexa dating. It must have just been that she was still upset from last night and needed a friend. The thought of anyone saying that her going on a lunch date with Marcus caused her to laugh though. 

“It’s definitely not a date. I think that would be extremely frowned upon.” Lexa laughed again and was met with a very confused looking blonde turning towards her. 

“Ok, you’re going to have to explain now because I’m really confused.” 

“It’s kind of a confusing situation, but Marcus who invited me to lunch is mums’ best friend. They have known each other since they were little and when mum was looking into having a child, she didn’t want to go through the potluck of a sperm donor. So, Marcus volunteered to be the donor which technically makes him by biological father. Although they decided before going through with everything that he would be like an uncle to me and mum would have full parental rights.” 

Realisation washed over Clarkes face and Lexa was happy to see her smiling again. 

“Maybe you should have started with that then.” Clarke scoffed “In that case I would love to meet him.” 

“Haha, sorry. I’ll text him now then.” Lexa pulled out her phone again as Clarke returned to cleaning up the kitchen. 

Lexa [10:48am] – I’m still in Polis and would love to meet up. Do you mind if I bring a friend with me? 

Marcus [10:49am] – Of coarse not, the more the merrier. How about we meet at Grounders Café in the city around noon? 

“He wants to meet at a place called Grounders Café in about an hour, does that work for you” she asked looking back up at Clarke. 

“Ooh good choice, I love it there and it’s not far, so we can finally take that walk if you want.” Clarke leaned over the bench with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. 

Lexa [10:50am] – Perfect! See you then. 

“You better go get ready then, because I expect the best tour of my life.” She beamed 

“Prepared to be amazed.” Clarke winked at her and walked off to the bedroom. 

Lexa doubted she could be anything less than amazed by Clarke if her previous experiences have anything to show for it. She could take her to a sewerage plantation and still be happy in her company. 

******************************* 

Ten minutes later they were both ready and stepping out onto the street. It was a cool day with a light breeze flowing around them and neither of them thought to take a jacket. Lexa almost considered suggesting that she go back up and get one, but Clarke took her arm around hers and she immediately felt more warmth than any jacket could provide. 

“Ready?” Clarke beamed, causing Lexa’s insides to stir. 

“Yep, let’s go” She lightly squeezed. 

Lexa wasn’t exactly sure where they were going, but she hoped they didn’t get there any time soon because she wasn’t ready to give up her hold on the blonde. They were walking and sharing light conversation, enjoying the different sites around the city as well as each other’s company. She wanted to protest when Clarke started walking her in the direction of a shop but immediately gave up when she felt a warm hand slip into hers and pull her through the front door of a shop called Trikru. 

“This is one of my favourite stores in all of Polis. I have actually sold a couple of paintings through them too which probably makes be a bit bias.” Clarke excitedly tells Lexa while she keeps pulling her along the isles looking at the various hand made gifts and art. 

Lexa was happy to see how eager she was looking at all of the items on the shelves and pointing out work from some of the other local artists that she knew of or had met on occasion. She was curious if there was a reason Clarke brought her here other than to window shop, but it became fairly obvious after they started making their way back to things they had already seen before that she was just here to admire. Lexa didn’t mind though, some of the products were actually pretty cool. But all she was focused on was the beautiful smile lighting up Clarke’s face and the way her eyes shone with excitement. 

She made a mental note to come back here whenever she needed to buy the blonde a present in future. Even some of the home decorations might be a good choice when her mum’s birthday rolls around, so she doubts this will be the first time she sets foot in this shop. 

“I’m just going to talk to the manager real quick about bringing some more of my work down. I won’t be long though I promise.” Clarke shot her an apologetic smile. 

“Don’t worry about it, we still have another 20 minutes before we have to meet Marcus. Take your time.” 

Since they had already looked at pretty much everything in the shop twice, Lexa decided to wait outside for Clarke. She feels uncomfortable staying in a shop for too long knowing that she isn’t going to buy anything. To pass the time she pulls out her phone and goes through her Instagram feed. One of the first pictures that comes up is of Anya and Raven cuddled up together at what is obviously a movie theatre, Raven looking up into the camera and Anya sporting her usual annoyed look that she knows is a cover. 

She has always been envious of their relationship but at the same time is happy that they found each other. They were like two peas in a pod with the way they bicker at each other and put up such a strong front that people who didn’t know them might find off-putting. One day she hoped to find someone like that. Her mind drifted to a certain blonde before she stopped herself. As far as she knows, Clarke has no interest in girls and definitely not her. There was no point torturing herself, but as much as she wished her feelings could change, they were only getting worse. 

Shaking her head and loudly exhaling, she tries to put those thoughts to the back of her mind where they belong. She continued scrolling through her feed until she heard the bell indicating the door behind her being pushed open and soon after felt an arm wrapping around hers again. 

“Sorry about that, do you want to head to the café now?” 

“Sounds good. How did you go?” Lexa asked as they started moving again, this time turning down a narrow walking street surrounded by two storey buildings that appeared to be small shops from the signs scattered around. 

“Great actually. They told me to bring in whatever I want, whenever I want since all my work sells so quickly.” Clarke jumped giddily while still keeping a firm hold on Lexa’s arm. 

“That’s amazing, one day when you’re famous I can tell people that I knew you to earn major bragging rights.” She lightly tapped her foot into Clarkes but being careful not to trip and embarrass herself. 

“Oh no, you aren’t getting rid of me that easily Woods. But I do appreciate the flattery.” Clarke batted her eyelids causing Lexa to burst out in a hearty laugh. 

“Damn, I’m going to have to think of a new escape plan then!” 

Clarke feigned hurt with her hand on her chest and pulled away from Lexa slightly for the full effect. They stopped walking and unintentionally turned to face each other before Clarke spoke again. 

“How about you be my personal trainer when I become rich and famous? Then you can travel with me and we don’t have to give up our Netflix dates.” 

Lexa’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the word date leave Clarkes lips. She had to continuously remind herself that the blonde was just playing with her and not professing her undying love. 

“Look, I’ll have to level with you now to save any disappointment in the future.” Lexa’s face turned stoic “But I have seen your diet and I think you’re a lost cause.” How she managed not to burst out laughing was beyond her. 

Clarke’s lips were pinched closed and her face scrunched up in the most adorable look Lexa had ever seen which made it even harder not to laugh. It only took a few seconds of awkward silence before Clarke was slapping her arm and laughing. 

“Bitch.” 

Now it was Lexa’s turn to let out the breath she was holding along with the laugh she could no longer stop. 

“Just for that, you have to hold my hand the whole way to the restaurant and I’m going to try my best to embarrass you in front of every person we walk past.” 

Lexa had to put up some kind of fight to that, so Clarke wouldn’t know that the thought actually excited her. 

“Really? Every person?” She smiled at the blonde. 

“Yep. Maybe next time you’ll think before teasing me again.” Clarke stuck her tongue out at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her along again. 

“Doubt it.” Lexa mumbled and thought Clarke didn’t hear her until she ‘accidently’ stood on her foot. 

Walking to the restaurant, Lexa felt lighter and more carefree then she can ever remember feeling in her life. She never wanted this day to end and part of her wished she had said no to Marcus, so she could have spent the whole day like this with Clarke. But she knows she would have been way too guilty to do that and was really looking forward to seeing him. Lucky Clarke had agreed to come too. 

**************************** 

“Stop pouting Lexa, were here.” Clarke motioned to the café. 

“Maybe I would if that entire family we passed didn’t think that there was something seriously wrong with me! Did you see the way that little boy looked at me!” Lexa wined. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure his stranger danger alertness just went up tenfold, so you actually did him a favour.” 

“Yeah, thanks to you. I wish I could go back in time and never tell you about my fear of spiders. Maybe then you wouldn’t have thought it was a good idea to make me believe that there was one crawling up the side of my face!” 

Clarke was laughing so hard that she had to wipe some of the small tears from the side of her eyes and didn’t notice the man approaching them. 

“She’s been scared of spiders ever since her friend Anya put a fake one in her shoe one day.” Marcus couldn’t help but chuckle at the way Clarke was acting and pulled a groaning Lexa into a hug. 

“It’s really nice to see you Lexa. I hope you have been taking care of yourself.” He whispers in her ear low enough that no one else could hear. 

“You too, I've missed you” Lexa let herself relax in his warm embrace. 

“Missed you too kiddo” 

They embraced for almost half a minute before pulling back with a smile and turning towards the Blonde awkwardly looking around, not wanting to intrude. 

“Marcus, this is my friend Clarke Griffin. Her parents are who hired mum and let us move onto their manor.” 

“Nice to meet you Clarke. Would your mother happen to be Dr Abigail Griffin?” He extended his hand for her to shake. 

“That’s her. If she did something to offend you please don’t hold it against me.” She shakes his hand and smiles to show that she was joking. 

Marcus laughed. “I had no idea that was who hired Indra, it really is a small world. Your mother is actually my doctor so I have nothing but admiration for her. Not too long ago I found myself on her operating table when I was in an unfortunate accident. You have a rather remarkable mother Clarke.” 

Lexa looked over at him with a worried expression on her face. She hadn’t heard of him needing surgery for anything and was instantly concerned. Marcus could her reaction and whispered “another time” to her indicating that he didn’t want to talk about it at the moment. 

“Don’t tell her that, her ego is already way too big.” Clarke scoffed 

“How about we go inside so it doesn’t look like we have taken up residence on the footpath?” Marcus put his hand on each of the girl's shoulders and lead them inside the café. 

They were immediately met by a friendly server who showed them to a booth at the back of the café. Lexa slid into the far side with Clarke following beside her, Marcus then sat on the opposite side of them in front of Lexa. 

“Order whatever you like girls, it’s on me.” Marcus handed them both a menu from the centre of the table and flipped it open to look inside. 

“I don’t mind paying since I technically dragged Lexa to Polis for my friends party.” Clarke offered 

“Nonsense, even more reason for me to pay then. If you hadn’t dragged her here then I wouldn’t be having lunch with two beautiful young women.” he waved off. 

“Don’t be embarrassing please” Lexa wined 

“It’s my duty as an older relative to do just that. Plus, I’m basically complimenting myself by calling you beautiful. With mine and your mothers genes you were bound to come out looking camera ready.” 

Both Clarke and Marcus were laughing at Lexa slinking down into the booth with her hand covering her face. Light conversation followed the teasing and all three of them were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Lexa ordered a salad much to Clarkes disgust who ordered a burger with almost every ingredient on it while Marcus ordered the apple pie. She really had no idea how Clarke managed to keep such a fantastic figure with her diet. 

“At least try some of my milkshake” Clarke picked up the glass and shoved it towards her face with the straw right up against her lips. 

They had shared food before so it wasn’t really an issue, but it somehow felt more intimate sharing a straw that had been directly in her mouth a moment ago. She couldn’t even count how many times she thought about kissing the blonde today and this is just adding to the never-ending tally. 

“Fine I’ll have some before you end up pouring it all over me.” She took a quick sip through the straw and swallowed hard when Clarke returned that same straw to her mouth straight after. 

They were both lost in the moment and almost forgot that they had company sitting on the other side of the table. 

“So.. How long have the two of you been dating?” 

Well, that broke them out of their trance. Clarke almost spat out her milkshake but ended up choking on it instead. 

“We aren’t dating, we’re just friends.” Lexa could feel the blush crawling up her face imagining how incredible it would be to call the beautiful blonde her girlfriend. 

“Oh sorry, you could have fooled me though.” Marcus looked between both girls and smirked at their reactions. 

“Pfft, Clarke is straight so I think you are getting your signals wrong.” Lexa added 

“I never said that” Clarke mumbled shyly. 

Lexa could barely get her head around Clarke’s words. Did she just admit that she wasn’t straight? Does that mean that she actually has a chance? Who was she kidding though, even if Clarke was interested in girls, it's not like she would ever be interested in her. She could have whoever she wanted. 

Marcus sensing the awkward situation started talking again to break the silence. 

“So, there was actually a reason apart from just catching up that I wanted to see you Lexa.” He quickly gained both girl’s attention and affectively broke the awkwardness. But anyone that could see Lexa right now would know that her mind was working a mile a minute. 

“As you know, my mother passed away 6 months ago and since I'm an only child, she left everything in my possession.” 

Lexa calmed her features knowing that it was a hard topic for him to discuss and nodded for him to continue, wanting him to know that he had her full attention. 

“Well one of the things left to me is absolutely no use to me since I already have one that I barely use, and your mother mentioned that you were saving for one. My mother loved you like her own grandchild Lexa and I'm sure she would have beat me if I didn’t pass her car onto you.” 

She wouldn’t have bothered holding back her tears in front of Marcus, but she really didn’t want to cry in front of Clarke. So, she squeezed the top of her knees with her hands and blinked back the tears threating to fall. What she didn’t expect was for a hand to fall on top of hers to comfort her. She couldn’t prevent a few stray drops falling from her eyes after that. Lexa used her other hand to put it on top of Clarkes, silently thanking her for the support. 

“I couldn’t possibly take that from you. At least let me pay you for it. Give me a month to get a job and then I’ll start sending you some money.” She pulled back her hand from on top of Clarkes and wiped the tears from her eyes with her index finger. 

“Well that seems pointless considering it’s already yours. I transferred ownership of it to you last week and set you up with a year’s worth of insurance. Spend your limited youth enjoying yourself Lexa, not paying off unnecessary debts. Also, I won’t be accepting any money for it and I'll immediately send back anything you try to give me.” 

Lexa stood up and crossed the small space to her uncle to embrace him in a bone crushing hug, lightly sobbing against him. 

“Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me, I promise I’ll take the best care of it.” 

“I know you will, you’re a good kid Lexa and my mother knew it. We were both so proud to call you family.” He patted her on the back returning her hug with equal emotion. 

“I drove it to the café so you can take it back with you today if you want to. If that doesn’t work then I can take it back to my house and you can pick it up some other time.” 

Lexa pulled back from him and looked over to Clarke silently asking for her thoughts. 

“It’s fine with me. We can drive it back to the apartment after lunch and take both cars back to the manor.” Clarke smiled softly. 

“Well if both you ladies are finished with your lunch, let’s go find your car.” He pulled a set of keys out of his back pocket and handed them to Lexa. 

She cradled them in her hands like they were a precious object and immediately threw her arms back around Marcus again, causing him to burst out in laughter again. 

Clarke and Lexa stayed at the table for the few minutes it took Marcus to get up and pay for their meals. They barely spoke while they waited but Clarke was offering her comfort in the form of light touches. All three of them left the café with full stomachs and light hearts, casually talking about the last couple of weeks and Marcus bragging about the impressive garden at his house. 

Once they reached the car, Lexa unlocked it and felt absolutely giddy at the thought of having a car of her very own. Marcus ran through a couple of the safety features of the Mazda sedan and showed the girls where the spare tire was. She hugged Marcus for even longer this time and promised that they would see each other again soon considering her mother was yet to see him since they moved. 

Both girls waved at him while he walked away then finally started getting into the car. As soon as Lexa sat in the driver's seat, emotions she wasn’t expecting washed over her. This was Vera’s car, the woman who was always a part of her life and would cheer her on no matter what she was doing. Someone she could always depend on when she was little to make her laugh when she was sulking about something insignificant as children do. 

Someone she hadn’t seen in a long time and immediately felt bad for not reaching out more often when she had the chance. 

“Hey Lex, are you ok? I don’t want to take your thunder but do you need me to drive?” Clarke leaned over and tucked a stray piece of brunette hair behind her ear. 

“No It's ok, I should be fine in a minute. But thank you.” She wiped her eyes and turned the car ignition on. 

They drove back to the apartment listening to music on the radio. Lexa was surprised that Clarke wasn’t trying overly hard to get her to talk, but she was glad that she wasn’t. Having her at her side definitely made the situation a lot easier though. She felt like she could take anything on with Clarke’s at her side. Usually she would be trying to push those feeling down but right now she needed them to make her feel stronger.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a fluff chapter, Clarke finally admits something to herself and to Lexa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to be faster posting this chapter! The next chapter we will start seeing a bit more Clexa relationship development.   
> Enjoy!

It was a quick drive back to the manor from Polis, but Clarke missed Lexa’s presence in the seat next to her the whole time. Thankfully, the brunette couldn’t tell how often she kept looking through her rear-view mirror to steal glances at the car behind her. She also hadn’t seen or heard from Lexa over the past couple of hours since they got home, which was getting to her more than it should considering how long they just spent together. But any time apart was becoming too much for Clarke at this stage.

After the rather erotic dream that featured the very girl plaguing every second thought she had, Clarke has finally admitted to herself that she maybe has feelings for Lexa. Since Finn isn’t in the picture anymore she doesn’t feel so guilty indulging in these fantasies and finally allows herself to think of the possibilities. 

Now that she thinks back on it, she isn’t sure why she wasted so much time hoping that things with Finn would magically get better. But she doesn’t want to wallow on it. She got everything off her chest she had been dying to say to him when they broke up and she wasn’t going to let it drag her down anymore. It was almost exciting letting her feelings for Lexa grow, but she only hopes that it isn’t going to backfire on her and end up breaking her in a way that not even Finn ever could. 

She remembers the feelings that she had for Niylah back in high school and it still makes her stomach drop when she thinks about the risk that she never took. Sometimes it makes her wonder what her life would be like right now if she had even the slightest bit of courage to follow her heart. 

Although, perhaps everything worked out for the best because even though the feelings she had for Niylah were very real, they were nothing compared to how she already felt about Lexa. Her heart knew it as soon as she saw her, but her head took a little bit longer to catch up. 

With all of the emotions running high, she moved out to the balcony adjoining her room regardless of how hot the day was and how she would never even consider sitting out there under any other circumstances. But her balcony had the perfect view of the front entrance of the manor where Lexa’s newly gifted car was parked and still contained some of her things. She couldn’t pass up the opportunity to catch a glimpse of her favourite shade of green and that perfectly sculpted body.

Since the sun was still high in the sky, she decided to pass some time by starting one of the new paintings she promised to Trikru. It also helps that she can photograph all of the paintings she sells for her portfolio to help pass her studies. With no idea what she was going to paint, Clarke decided to mix up a variety of rich colours and go with whatever started coming together. Unknowingly, half of the colours on her pallet where different shades of green that she kept adding colour to, trying to get it perfect. 

One might find it funny that even though she lives amongst picturesque lush greenery, she has never once felt inclined to paint it. But today, with so many greens coming together on her canvas it was quickly rivalling the beauty surrounding her. She paints one of her favourite spots in the whole garden which is a semi secluded spot tucked away at the furthest end outside the pool yard. A singular wooden bench sits amongst an array of flower bushes and shady trees that still offer enough sunlight to kiss your skin. 

But her favourite part about the whole spot is that it’s actually Lexa’s favourite spot. On more than several occasions, even in the short amount of time she has been living there, Clarke has found here on that very bench. Usually reading or sometimes just sprawled out watching the wind move through the trees. On the canvas, the brunette has her legs thrown over the side of the bench and is munching on an apple with one hand and the other behind her to support her weight. She has a glowing smile on her face and is looking up into one of the nearby trees where a baby racoon is whirling around a branch. 

She spends a particularly long time creating the lines of her face, not wanting to miss a single detail that she has tried so hard to burn into her memory. Clarke is so lost in the painting at this stage that she wasn’t looking at anything but the canvas in front of her. So, when Indra let out a loud screech of excitement, she almost fell off her stool. 

“Oh my god, he really gave it to you. Take care of it with your life child and make sure you visit him regularly now. Poor Marcus has been particularly lonely since Vera passed.” Indra wrapped her arm around Lexa’s waist.

“I know, I know. He really wants to see you too you know. Maybe we can invite him over for dinner?”

Clarke’s painting was long forgotten once she heard Lexa’s voice, but she still kept her paintbrush in the air, so she could turn around quickly and pretend she wasn’t eavesdropping if need be. 

“Perhaps a lunch. I wouldn’t want him driving back to the city late at night and I doubt sleeping on the couch would be very good for anybody.” 

Lexa moved to start unloading some of the items she had in the back of the trunk.

“He could sleep in my room and that way he could have breakfast with us too. I’m sure Clarke wouldn’t mind if I stayed with her for the night.”

Clarke blushed. Last night was the first time she ever shared a bed and she was eager to do it again. Falling asleep with Lexa was one of the most peaceful sleeps she had in a very long time. She was about to come to Lexa’s aid and further enforce the fact that Marcus should come for dinner. 

“Is that wise considering your feelings for the girl?” 

“Mum!” Lexa scolded and looked around them, but thankfully not up at the balcony.

“She’s my friend. You never had any problems with me and Anya sharing a bed” 

Clarkes heartrate picked up at the mention of Lexa having feelings for her. That would be too good to be true. 

“You also didn’t look at Anya with heart eyes like you do with Clarke. I’m sure if Anya were here, she would back me up on this.” Indra laughed

“Well thankfully she isn’t here because I don’t need you both ganging up on me.” Lexa huffed, throwing her bags over her shoulders and locking up the car. 

Indra laughed at Lexa again and lightly shoved her while they were walking back up towards their house. Clarke could faintly hear them talking as they walked away but couldn’t make out what they were saying. 

She vowed to herself that next time she was alone with Lexa, she would try to start planting the seeds in her mind, so the brunette knew she was interested. 

********************

Two hours later, Clarke was just putting the finishing touches on her painting when her mother’s car came up the driveway. 

“Hey honey, how was Polis?” Abby called out to her up on the balcony.

“It was good, just a regular, crazy Blake party.” Clarke started cleaning off her paintbrushes in the small bucket beside her. 

“Well I doubt Lincoln would have expected anything different from those two. Was Finn there? I ran into his father at the cafeteria this morning and he said he was acting strange ever since the party.”

Clarke sighed, not really wanting to have this conversation with her mother if she had to shout from the balcony.

“Yes, he was there, and we had an argument. Do you want to come up?” she turned slightly and patted the spare seat behind her in invitation.

“Sure honey give me 5 minutes to get dressed and I’ll be there.” Abby softly smiled at her and walked into the house. 

Clarke used that time to finish cleaning up her pallet and brushes, manoeuvring her freshly painted canvas into a spot where it would dry properly but not get damaged from the elements. She wasn’t sure how much of her conversation with Finn she wanted to share. But she didn’t want to walk around pretending like they were still together. Plus, her parents would probably find it suspicious after a while that he wasn’t visiting weekly like he used to. 

“Oh wow, Clarke. This is beautiful” Abby approached soundlessly and hovered her fingers over the fresh painting, careful not to touch it but wanting to admire it. 

“Thanks. Inspiration hit, and I couldn’t put the brush down until I finished it.” Clarke got off her painting stool and sat down on one of the smaller chairs near the coffee table. 

“Did you know that bench was your grandmothers favourite place to sit? She used to take you there after you swam in the pool and read to you until you eventually fell asleep. Your father always had to come and get you, so he could carry you up to your bed.” Abby chuckled, and a soft expression fell over her face. 

“I remember her reading to me, but I never realised it was there.” Clarke looked over at the painting and lost herself in thought momentarily.   
Abby sat down next to her and placed a comforting hand on top of hers. 

“Now it looks like someone else’s favourite spot. I’m sure she would be pleased to know that Lexa is enjoying it as much as she used to.” 

“How did you know it was Lexa?” Clarke looks at her questioningly causing Abby to laugh.

“Because since she’s moved here, it’s always been about Lexa. And please don’t think I’m picking on you, it’s just an observation.” 

“Plus, you are a very good artist in case you didn’t already know. And that” she nods over to the painting “Is most definitely Alexandria Woods”

“I think I like her mum.” She looks down at her lap, avoiding what she is hoping isn’t a judgemental glare. 

“You think?” Abby laughed again. “Honey I don’t think I have ever seen you so smitten with anyone else before.”

“So, you aren’t mad or disappointed in me?” Hopeful blue eyes lock with her mother’s caring ones. 

“Honey the only way I would ever be disappointed in you is if you wasted your life away. There is nothing wrong with following your heart.”

“Thanks mum” Clarke said, wiping the small pool of wetness out of the corners of her eyes. 

“Sooo. Would this happen to be the reason you fought with Finn?” Abby reached over and wiped some of the dried paint off Clarkes chin. 

“No, that one was a long time coming. Although I think having Lexa around finally gave me the strength to so say something to him. I broke up with him because our relationship ruined our friendship. It never should have been anything more than a friendship to begin with anyway.” Clarke replied

“I have to admit, when you guys were growing up I did always think you were going to end up together. But I could see when you got older that you just weren’t right for each other. I’m proud you were able to make that decision for the both of you and move on from it.” 

Abby stood up before kneeling in front of Clarke, so she could wrap her up in a comforting hug. 

“Although” She said, pulling back and resting her hands on Clarkes knees “I think it’s about time I pay more attention to Lexa and make sure she is daughter in law material.”

“Mum!” Clarke wined, looking mortified

“Fine, fine I’ll be good. But don’t expect anything less from your father after he catches wind of it.” 

“Uhh” Clarke facepalmed “Please don’t embarrass her, she gets really shy around other people. I don’t need you guys scaring her off.” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it” Abby winked. “Now I better get to bed before I fall asleep on this chair and wake up in a world of hurt. See you at dinner?”

“Sure, thanks for everything mum.” Clarke smiled

“Any time. It makes me happy that you still talk to me about these things. I love you Clarke.” Abby kissed her on the forehead and walks out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. 

Clarke sat silently in her chair for a while longer feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked back over to her painting and felt her insides swoon. Never before has she felt the need to keep a painting more than she did now. It felt wrong selling this to someone else knowing that they would never understand how special it was. She wasn’t ready for Lexa to see it though, too afraid of her reaction. So, she decided to put it in the small storage space she had set aside in her walk-in cupboard and away from view. 

********************

As the day progressed, so did Clarkes need to see Lexa. After another hour of walking circles around her room trying to keep busy she finally gave up and found herself leaving the house and walking up the steps towards the Woods’ house on the guise of delivering their mail that Indra usually collects every morning when she starts work. She knew it was a poor excuse, but her need to see the brunette overtook the feelings of embarrassment. 

As Clarke approached the front door, she could hear Indra and Lexa yelling to each other from opposite ends of the house. She almost thought better about knocking on the front door and just leaving until she realised they weren’t having an argument and it was probably Lexa being too lazy to leave her room. Since Indra’s voice was the loudest, she wasn’t surprised when the older woman answered the door. 

“Clarke, it’s nice to see you dear. Thank you for helping Lexa bring Vera’s car back.” Indra smiled and stepped aside to let Clarke into the house.

“No problem” Clarke waved her hand around. “I actually came to bring you your mail. Some of the envelopes looked important so I thought I'd better drop it off.” She rambled

Indra laughed and took the mail from Clarkes outstretched hand. 

“Lexa is in her bedroom but be warned, she’s in a bit of a mood” Indra walked out onto the patio with her mail to start sorting through it. 

Clarke felt a bit guilty knowing that Indra caught onto what she was doing but shook it off quickly knowing her reason for coming here was mere meters away. Walking down the hallway to Lexa’s room she could hear Halsey playing loud enough that the brunette probably hadn’t realised that she was even here. Her door was half open already so Clarke stood in the doorway and poked her head inside. What she saw was one of the cutest things she has probably ever seen and caused butterflies to release inside her stomach. 

Lexa is wearing an oversized T-shirt that only looked suitable enough to be pyjamas on her, along with a pair of shorts that were barely visible under the shirt and some fluffy blue socks on her feet. Her long hair was down and flowing in beautiful curly waves, swishing to the side as she danced along to the music and folded a pile of clothes stacked on top of her bed. 

She didn’t seem to be ‘in a mood’ as Indra put it, but Clarke didn’t want to risk pissing her off so after a minute enjoying the view, she decided to knock on the door to announce her presence. Lexa squealed and dropped the jeans she was folding onto the floor, turning her torso towards the source of noise with wide eyes. She quickly scrambled to pick up the jeans she dropped and move over to her speakers to turn them down. 

“Hey Clarke, I didn’t know you were coming over. Shit, did you text me? I’m sorry I’ve been playing music and didn’t look at my phone.” Lexa rubbed the back of her neck and her eyes ran all over the room, probably making sure she didn’t have anything embarrassing on display. 

“No I just dropped off some mail for your mum and thought I'd come in and see what you were up to. I can leave though, sorry to bug you unannounced.” Clarke motioned behind herself with her thumb and took a few steps back, getting ready to leave.

All to quickly though Lexa stepped forward and gently pulled her into the room by her wrist, closing the door behind them. “You never bug me Clarke, and you don’t have to leave. Why don’t you sit at my desk while I finish up with this and then maybe we can watch a movie?” She shyly asked. 

“Sounds perfect Lex. Are you ok though? Your mum mentioned you weren’t in the best mood” Clarke sat down on the chair facing sideways so she could watch while Lexa continued with her clothes.

“Yeah I'm fine. Typical Anya just sprung on me that her and Raven are coming to visit in a few days so now I have to figure out where they are going to stay. Do you have a spare mattress by any chance so they could sleep in here?” Lexa moved between the walk-in cupboard and her bed to put her clothes away as she spoke. 

“No, we don’t sorry. Both of the spare beds that we had ended up in here and my parents never thought it was necessary to get new ones. People just used to stay here but we don’t get too many visitors now that Grandma is gone. Plus, when my friends stay they usually just sleep in my room.” Clarke threw an apologetic glance towards her. 

“I guess I could always bunk with mum and they could have my bed.” Lexa grumbled while she put the last lot of her clothes away and leaned up against the wall to look at Clarke

“Or..” Clarke shuffled nervously in her seat. “Why don’t you stay with me? We shared a bed last night so we both know we’re not going to annoy each other. Unless you want to stay here with your friends which is completely fine. It just saves you not annoying your mum if you go to bed late.”

Lexa pushed off the wall and pulled her laptop from her bag, trying to hide the blush on her face. “Sure, but only if that’s ok with you. You're welcome to hang out with us when they get here too.” 

“I wouldn’t have asked if it wasn’t ok Lexa. It will be fun.” 

“Ok, but you can kick me out at any time if I start annoying you.” 

Clarke laughed and got up from the chair when Lexa settled down on her bed with her laptop. She really wanted to cuddle up to her but thought she might progress to that once the movie started. Her heart started beating out of her chest when Lexa was the one to initiate contact, settling up against Clarke so their sides were touching and placing a pillow over their laps for the laptop to sit on. 

“What do you want to watch?” Lexa asked turned her neck to ask which caused Clarke to momentarily derail her train of thoughts. Their faces were so close that she could almost feel Lexa’s breath. Just a few inches closer and her lips would be touching the softest, plumpest lips she has ever had the pleasure of seeing. She must have looked dazed because after a few silent moments, Lexa took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Clarke?” 

“Right, sorry. Why don’t we watch Finding Dory since we watched Nemo already?” Clarke replied, shaking her head slightly to pull herself back into reality. 

“Sure. Did you want anything before I start it? I could make some popcorn if you’re hungry.” Lexa moved her hands back to the laptop to start finding the movie on her Netflix account. 

“No thanks but go ahead if you want anything.” Clarke smiled and immediately missed the warmth of Lexa’s hand. 

“I’m fine, let me know if you change your mind.” Lexa replied.

They both settled against each other while the movie started up, but Clarke was too scared to move a muscle. She didn’t want Lexa to think she was uncomfortable and end up moving further away from her because being this close to her was better than any other feeling she had experienced so far. Her mind ran away from her again and she thought about how amazing it would feel to slide her arms around Lexa’s waist and rest her head against her chest. 

She couldn’t believe how quickly her feelings for the girl next to her had grown so hard and so fast and she wished more than ever that she had someone to speak to about it who knew her situation. After having feelings for Niylah in the past it didn’t overly surprise her that she could fall for another girl, but she never expected it to feel like this. 

Lexa was really the only other person she knew who had been through this. Could she really talk to her about it though? She knew that eventually she would have to, so why not just rip off the metaphorical Band-Aid? 

Clarke didn’t realise that she had been shuffling around and not paying attention to the movie until Lexa paused it and she couldn’t hear the movie playing anymore. 

“Hey are you ok? We don’t have to watch anymore if you’re not into it.” Lexa looked at her with worried green eyes.

“Sorry, I guess I just have a lot on my mind.” Clarke offered her a glance and a half smile. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lexa suggested.

“I’m kind of embarrassed to talk about it though and I’m scared of how you are going to react. I have really enjoyed the last few weeks together and I don’t want to scare you off.” Clarke half-heartedly laughed and looked down at her hands clamped together. 

“Clarke” Lexa frowned, pulling herself up slightly so she could sit up and look at her. “If you haven’t already scared me away with your incessant teasing and your mission to embarrass me in front of strangers, then it’s safe to say you won’t get rid of me very easily.” 

Lexa’s joking made the situation a bit less tense, so Clarke took a deep breath before she could get any words to come out of her mouth. 

“Ok. So, you know when we were having lunch I mentioned that I wasn’t exactly straight?” Clarke glanced up at Lexa to gauge her reaction and swear that she saw her swallowing hard before nodding her head. 

“I guess I’ve always had feelings for other girls but just never fully admitted to myself what that actually meant. But lately I have started developing some pretty incredible feelings for another girl and think I’m ready to finally acknowledge that I’m bisexual.” Clarke really hoped that Lexa understood all of what she said because she isn’t sure if she took a single breath during her confession. 

Lexa sat there completely still, and Clarke worried she said something wrong. The only indication that she heard her was the mix of emotions running over her face. It started with a look of surprise that quickly turned into a disappointed expression and finally morphed into a sad smile. 

Clarke was relieved when Lexa finally decided to speak.

“I can’t believe you thought that I would think any differently of you for having feelings for another girl Clarke. You should know me of all people would understand that situation. I hope whoever this girl is knows how extremely lucky she is to have someone like you care for her. Just know that I’m always here if you need anything.” Lexa almost looked hesitant to touch her but still reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

Clarke could barely hold in her emotions, if only Lexa knew that she was talking about her. But she knew it was too soon to tell her. Sure, they had got to know each other really well over a short period of time but this was all still very new to Clarke and she didn’t want to rush into anything. The last thing she wanted was for people to think that Lexa was some kind of rebound after she ended things with Finn. 

“Thanks Lex. You are the first person that I’ve told, and I think I need some more time to get my head around it and just let myself feel before I’m ready to do anything about it.” Clarke put her hand on top of Lexa’s and gave it a light squeeze. 

“Well you should definitely hang around Raven, Anya and I when they get here. I know none of your close friends apart from me are gay, so you might find it comforting to be around a couple. It could help you feel more comfortable thinking about being in that kind of relationship one day.” 

Neither girls moved, Lexa was still sitting upright with her hand on Clarkes shoulder and Clarke was still leaning back on the bed with her hand covering Lexa’s. She couldn’t be happier with Lexa’s reaction and she was glad that the brunette didn’t push her for any more information. Knowing that Clarke was the kind of person not to hold back on information she was comfortable sharing. 

She started getting excited about meeting Lexa’s friends and wondered if she would act much differently around people she knew for a long time. But right now, what she wanted the most was to be as close to Lexa as possible. 

“Sorry I ruined the movie. Do you want to keep watching?” Clarke scooted over slightly to make it easier for Lexa to return to her previous position. 

“Only if you want to” Lexa replied, pulling the laptop back up and waiting for confirmation. 

“I want to.” Clarke smiled and nodded once to reassure Lexa. 

Clarke was immediately disappointed when Lexa sat back down next to her but left a small amount of space between them this time so only their arms were touching. She tried not to let her disappointment show, but Lexa was pretty good at reading her by this stage. 

Moments later, Lexa draped her arm over the opposite side of Clarkes shoulder and pulled them closer together, offering Clarke to rest her head up against her if she wanted to. Clarke, of coarse took the offer and also draped her arm over Lexa’s stomach. 

“Better?” Lexa asked

“Much” Clarke sighed and settled into the brunette so close that she could smell the sweetness of her conditioner and the light perfume on her skin. 

Lexa pressed play on the movie again and they both remained quiet for the rest of the movie. Both content being in each other’s arms and occasionally laughing at the movie. Neither girl knowing at that moment just how much they meant to the other.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anya and Raven arrive. Plus something we have all been waiting for!

Friday came around way too quick for Lexa and now that Anya and Raven were only an hour away from arriving, she was starting to get excited. She had spent the last few days completing two assignments that really should have only taken her a full day's work, but in her defence she was very distracted. Ever since Clarke had confessed her bisexuality and admitted having feelings for someone, she couldn’t help but rack her brain trying to figure out who this girl was. She tried replaying previous conversations, remembering anyone being mentioned a lot but could only remember her talking about Octavia and their close group of friends. 

Is it Octavia that Clarke is having feelings for? She did talk about the other girl quite a lot and they have known each other for a while. But she had seen how they interacted, Clarke never missed a beat around her and always carried herself with confidence. If she was anything like Lexa, being around the person she was crushing made her much less composed. Now as well feeling disappointed about Clarke liking someone else, it made her feel like a bad friend who hadn’t been paying attention. 

She really shouldn’t be thinking about this now though, not when she was supposed to be getting her room ready for when Anya and Raven arrived and pack herself a bag to take to Clarke’s later. Mentally checking off the list of things to do in her head, all she thankfully had left to do was change the sheets on her bed. She had thought about leaving them but decided against it when she remembered how those two couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Like hell would they be consummating on her good sheets. Just the thought of her friends like that made her shudder, she had already heard enough over the years. 

Raven [11:12 AM] - Oi let us in the gate! We have been honking and buzzing for like 5 minutes. Anya is just about ready to climb it. 

“Shit, they’re early” Lexa cursed

Lexa [11:12 AM] - Hey Clarke, would you mind letting my friends through the gate? I’m just finishing up my room. 

Lexa silently prayed that Clarke was near her phone so she wouldn’t have to run down to the main house and let them in. Knowing how impatient Raven could get, she would only get a good 60 seconds of not responding before her phone started ringing. 

Scratch that, obviously she is feeling much more impatient this morning because just after she finished her text to Clarke, her phone started blaring. 

“Lexa, Lexa Lexa! Let us in already!” Raven screeched through the phone

“Hi Raven, nice to hear from you too.” Lexa laughed “I just messaged Clarke to let you in since we don’t have a buzzer for the gate at our house.”

“Ooh babe, Clarke’s letting us in. Let’s get to her before Lex....”

She could hear Ravens voice at a distance before the phone cut out. 

Clarke [11:14 AM] - Sure thing, do you want me to show them up to your place?

“Fucking hell” She groaned, quickly pulling her shoes on without bothering with socks. The last thing she needed was for those two to be alone with Clarke the first time they met. It would without a doubt be completely embarrassing on her part. The last thing she needed was for one of them to slip that she was completely smitten.

Even though she made it down to the driveway in record time, when she arrived Anya, Raven and Clarke were already doing introductions. 

“G’day mate” Raven pulled Clarke in for a firm hug. She would have been concerned about Ravens forwardness if she hadn’t seen the large smile beaming off Clarke’s face. 

“So, you must be either Anya or Raven? Lexa didn’t mention that either of you were Australian.” Clarke pulled back from the hug and looked at both girls. 

Lexa made it just in time to hear the exchange and completely forgot about the rush to save herself embarrassment when she saw Anya waiting for her, arms open and a large smile on her face. She jogged over to her best friend threw her arms around her shoulders. Even though it hadn’t been too long since they had seen each other and they communicated in some way every day, she was ridiculously happy to see her. 

“Hey Ahn, I missed your stupid face.” Lexa whispered so the others wouldn’t tease her.

“You too Lex. But not as much as I missed your mum. Where is she anyway?” Anya laughed and started looking around at nothing in particular, pretending to search for Indra. 

“Ass” Lexa lightly punched her in the arm and walked over to hug Raven.

“Oh, and Clarke this is Raven who most definitely isn’t Australian but likes to pretend she is anyway after spending a month there.” Lexa looked over at Clarke and smiled. “Also, be careful if she offers you any black looking paste to eat. I would advise against it because it will most definitely be vegemite and that shit is gross.” 

Raven inhaled a large breath dramatically and put her hand up to her chest in faux hurt before pointing at Lexa. “One, stop giving away my secrets and Two, don’t you dare speak about vegemite like that again.” 

Lexa, Anya and Clarke all laughed at Raven while she pretended to disown all of them. 

“Actually, I really like vegemite so I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to share some.” Clarke said

Raven practically squealed and looped her arm through Clarkes. “Looks like I have a new friend now. Bye Lexa.” Raven waved as she dragged Clarke towards the Griffins house. 

“Looks like I just lost my girlfriend for a bit.” Anya laughed

“Don’t worry, give it about 2 minutes before Clarke finally gets a word in and tells Raven she just walked into the wrong house.” Lexa picked up Ravens bags and lead Anya in the direction of their house. 

They spoke for a couple of minutes about the car trip, Anya explaining that they left earlier than they first anticipated which was why they arrived when they did. She really missed talking to her best friend like this and decided to herself that she would make sure they got to see each other as much as possible. While she had missed hanging out with Raven too, it was nice to get some time along with Anya. Hopefully Clarke was getting along well with her, or she would have some serious making up to do. 

“This place is amazing Lex, you really weren’t kidding when you said the pictures didn’t do it any justice.” Anya said as they finished climbing the wooden staircase to the Wood’s house. 

“It really is, I’m much happier here then I thought I would be. Before you say it, yes you told me so.” Lexa stepped forward and opened the door to the house to let them both inside. 

“You took the words right out of my mouth” Anya laughed. “But I do think that your happiness here has more to do with a certain hot blonde than the scenery.” She playfully shoved Lexa to the with her elbow and started looking around the house. 

“Ugh. Please don’t embarrass me in front of Clarke while you’re here. It’s pretty clear to us how I feel about her but the last thing I want is for her to feel uncomfortable about it.” Lexa dropped the bags in the living room and sat down on the couch, watching Anya walk through the back doors to have a look then going straight to the fridge. 

She really wasn’t surprised that Anya helped herself to a Coke from the fridge without asking, over the many years that they have been friends their houses became each other’s too. Anya walked back over to the living room and sat down on the couch on the opposite side of the room. 

“You know it’s not me you have to worry about embarrassing you.” Anya quirked her eyebrow and took a sip of her drink.

“Raven” Lexa sighed and covered her forehead with hand.

“Yep. Don’t worry, I’ll have a talk to her when she gets back. If the damage hasn’t already been done” Anya laughed as Lexa groaned and fell back dramatically in the chair.

They were both so busy with their interaction that neither noticed when the front door opened, and three figures walked in. 

“Already teasing my daughter I see. It’s like no time has passed at all.” Indra chucked from the doorway and looked over to Anya.

Anya looked shocked for a moment before throwing herself up out of the chair and over towards Indra. “Hey mum, I wasn’t expecting you until later.” Anya mumbled from her place in Indra’s arms. 

“Well it was impossible for me to ignore Ravens... very distinct voice when I heard her at the house, so as soon as I knew you were here there was nothing stopping me from coming to see you.” Indra hugged Anya back equally and smiled knowingly at Lexa who was trying to appear grumpy. The slight upturn of her lips gave her away though. 

“I do have to get back to work though, so I’ll leave you girls to it and see you later for dinner?” She questioned, looking between the three younger girls. 

“You bet Ms Woods! It’s been way too long since I’ve had your cooking.” Raven spoke for all of them, looking positively giddy. 

Indra laughed and stopped to lightly hug Raven before leaving and closing the front door behind her. There was no awkward silence, barely even a moment because Raven was scooping up her bag and demanding to know where she was sleeping. Lexa quickly glanced over at Clarke to try and gauge how she was taking the situation and was pleased when she was met with a large grin that she instantly matched without being able to help it. 

Before she even had a chance to show Raven where to go, the girl was running all over the house, opening every door available to her. Anya didn’t follow Raven but kept her eyes trained on her every time she came back into view from the hallway. She had a small smile on her lips and soft eyes whenever she saw her girlfriend. It made Lexa wish that she had someone to look at her like that and wonder if that’s how she looked at Clarke sometimes. Shit, hopefully it wasn’t obvious. She really had to make sure to keep that in check, especially around other people who might notice. 

“Raven, please stop running into mums’ room.” Lexa laughed “Mine’s the one at the right end of the hall, but I’m sure you would notice that if you stopped for a second.” 

“I’ll let you get your friends settled in, but how about you send me a text when you all want to hang out?” Clarke offered.

“Sure, that sounds good. Thanks for everything Clarke, I hope Raven didn’t scare you off when she kidnapped you before.” Lexa rubbed the back of her neck.

“Don’t worry Woods, she didn’t spill any of your secrets.” Clarke teased

“Yet.” Anya smirked before picking up her bag and following Raven into the bedroom. 

Lexa tried to conceal her blush while she scowled at Anya. 

“My friends are so embarrassing.” Lexa sighed.

“Would they really be your friends if they weren’t though?” Clarke laughed. “Don’t worry if you guys just want the afternoon to yourselves either, I have a commission I have to finish up anyway. But I’ll see you tonight regardless?” 

“Yeah, you definitely will. Bye Clarke.” Lexa awkwardly leaned in for a hug which was returned instantly. 

“Bye commander.” Clarke waved and lightly giggled on her way out of the house.

“Ugh, Raven!” Lexa yelled in the direction of her room. This was going to be a challenging few days that she wasn’t sure if she was excited or terrified about. 

***********************

Lexa decided against inviting Clarke over that afternoon even though a couple of times she almost gave in, knowing she was so close and missing her more than she probably should. But she knew that Anya and Raven were going to drill her for information on her friendship with Clarke and would rather get it over and done with. So, after Lexa helped them get settled into her room which lead to them asking where she was sleeping, she had not been able to escape the torture all afternoon. 

They were all lounging around in the living area watching movies on the tv but barely paying attention to it, too busy catching up and teasing Lexa relentlessly. She was thankful when her mum arrived home, so they laid off her for a bit in favour of talking to Indra. Anya helped her cook dinner while Raven and Lexa sat on the barstools occasionally stealing pieces of food off the chopping boards when Indra’s back was turned. 

“Should I take a plate out for Clarke too?” Indra questioned Lexa with a small smirk on her face. 

“Ha, Ha. No, she had some work to finish up, so I told her I would message her later.” Lexa shrugged and got up to help set up the table. 

She didn’t need to turn back around to know that they were all teasing her behind her back. The giggling and quiet shushing noises were a dead giveaway. Thankfully, they all decided to let it slide while they were eating dinner. It dawned on her while they were all enjoying each other’s company just how much love and support she had in her life, and she wouldn’t give it up for anything. Regardless of the teasing, she hadn’t felt this much at ease since she moved. 

Only two people were missing from this scenario for her to have everyone there that she loved. Marcus, and.. wait, love? She shook her head, it was way too early to have those kinds of feelings for Clarke. Although the words that her mother always told her growing up reverberated in her head, ‘when you know, you just know’. 

“Are you ok over there Lexa?” her mother broke her train of thoughts, looking at her with slight concern.

Anya jokingly looked at her wrist where a watch would usually be if she had one. “Well it has been a good few hours since she’s seen Blondie. She’s probably in a Clarke induced coma.” 

Raven spat out her drink from across the table with so much force that Lexa had to wipe some of it off her arm. “Gross Raven” Lexa grimaced and started to collect napkins to clean up the mess on her arm, throwing a bunch of them at Raven to clean the rest. 

“And shut up Anya. I was just thinking how it would be nice if we invited Marcus over while you guys are here.” She scowled at her friend and rolled her eyes. 

“That’s actually a wonderful idea dear. Why don’t you three finish cleaning up the mess you made of the table and do the dishes while you’re at it? I’m overdue to call Marcus anyway.” Indra moved around the table kissing each girl on the forehead before disappearing down the hallway.

“Goodnight girls!” She called out.

“Night mum!” The three of them replied in unison. 

*********************

It was just past 8PM when they all finally finished cleaning up and were deciding what to do next. Lexa was sitting at her desk facing the bed while Anya went through one of her bags. Raven was lying on the bed, feet up in the air resting against the wall and playing a game on her phone. 

“We could all watch a movie in here?” Lexa suggested

“As much as I would just love all three of us to cuddle up on your bed, why don’t we take it to the loungeroom?” Raven responded.

“Um, because you are incredibly loud and don’t even have the capabilities to whisper. Do you really want mum coming out here 10 minutes into the movie pissed off because she can’t sleep?” Lexa rolled up a piece of paper and threw it at Ravens head. 

“I have to agree with Lex there babe.” Anya bent over and kissed Raven while picking up the paper and throwing it back at Lexa. 

“Gross, can’t you guys wait until I’m not looking to do that?” Lexa scoffed and turned back to her phone. 

“Nope. Don’t be grumpy just because you aren’t getting any.” Raven poked her tongue out. 

Lexa ignored that comment because she couldn’t think of anything good enough to fire back with. Maybe she should just go back to the Griffin’s house and leave Anya and Raven to themselves in the room. It was true that even though the room was a decent size, there wasn’t really anywhere to watch a movie comfortably apart from the bed which would be a bit cosy with all three of them. 

Lexa [8:09 PM] – Hey, is it alright if I come up to the house soon?

Clarke [8:09 PM] – Of Course, I was just about to put American Horror on anyway if you want to join? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so early. 

Lexa [8:10 PM] – Yeah well, we couldn’t really decide on anything to do. We didn’t want to wake mum up by watching a movie in the lounge room and my rooms a bit small. 

Clarke [8:10 PM] – You’re welcome to bring Anya and Raven with you if you want. There’s plenty of room here and I have way too many snacks. 

Lexa [8:11 PM] – Are you sure? They can be a bit overwhelming.   
Clarke [8:11 PM] – Positive, just let yourselves in through the front door and come on up :)

“So, Clarke just invited us up to her place to watch American Horror, are you guys in?” Lexa looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes when her friends were kissing again.

“Hell yes! Blondies house looked like a mansion. I bet they have the best TV room.” Raven was already jumping off the bed and putting her shoes on. 

“I’m not sure, we usually just watch stuff in her bedroom. She has her own setup in there with a couch and everything.” Lexa shrugged. 

“Damn. I might have to cuddle up to Blondie tonight.” Anya joked and winked at Raven. 

“Not if I don’t get to her first.” Raven challenged while pushing through the door.

If it was anyone other than these two, Lexa might feel jealous hearing them talk about Clarke like that. But she knew that there was no competition for anyone else when it came to them, they were completely and utterly smitten with each other. 

“I think the only thing you’re going to have to fight Raven for is the snacks.” Lexa joked with Anya, causing them both to laugh lightly. 

When they made it out of the house, Raven was nowhere in sight. Hopefully she doesn’t go opening every damn door in the house looking for Clarke’s room. But the thought of Abby or Jake Griffin being on the other side of the door with an unimpressed look on her face stopped her from rushing after her. She deserved some embarrassment after tonight. 

***************** 

“Look who I found!” Raven practically yelled when Anya and Lexa walked through Clarke’s bedroom door. She draped her arm over Clarke’s shoulder and pulled her against her side. 

“Raven, oh my god shut up! You’re going to wake Clarke’s parents.” Lexa scolded. 

“Don’t worry, they are both in Polis tonight, so we have the house to ourselves.” Clarke reassured them all. 

“Yeah Lexa. Gosh” Raven winked at Clarke and went over to grab Anya’s hand, so she could pull her down onto the large bean bag that was to the left of the couch. 

Lexa almost wondered why Raven didn’t call dibs on the couch, but then she noticed that she was in arms reach of the snacks on the table and it all made sense. 

“Are you guys good to watch Asylum? I can put on something else if you want?” Clarke questioned, sitting in the middle of the couch and grabbing the remote. 

“Your house, your rules Blondie. We will watch whatever you want.” Anya pulled Raven towards her by wrapping her arm around her waist, letting Raven rest her head on her chest. 

Lexa was grateful that the beanbag was in front of the couch so that her friends couldn’t watch her interacting with Clarke and being a nervous wreck as usual. Especially when she realised that Clarke wasn’t moving from the centre of the couch, so she would have to sit right next to her. 

They all talked throughout the first episode and passed around the bags of snacks. Lexa was trying her hardest not to get too close to Clarke, but it became difficult when the latter obviously didn’t have the same thoughts. When the second episode started, the talking died down and Clarke scooched right up against Lexa and rested her head on her shoulder. Lexa thanked god that her heart wasn’t located there, or Clarke would know how she was making her react. 

She focused her hardest on the TV but would return Clarke’s smiles whenever she turned her head up to look at her. She swore that she caught Clarke looking at her lips for a moment, but the blonde’s eyes returned to the screen a split second later. Moments like this kept happening until about half way through the movie when she noticed that Clarke had her gaze fixed lower than the TV. 

Her curiosity got to better of her and she tried following her line of site without Clarke noticing. Especially since the blonde had started shifting in the seat slightly. She almost groaned in annoyance when she looked down and saw that Anya and Raven were engaged in a heated make out session. It didn’t surprise her that they were doing it, in fact the only surprise was that they held off that long. 

In her irritation she had almost forgot why she was looking over there in the first place until Clarke started shifting her legs again. She chanced another glance down at the girl next to her and found her lightly licking and sucking her bottom lip, her eyes clearly dilated and fixated on her friends. A small part of her was grossed out that Clarke was clearly getting turned on watching her friends making out. But she couldn’t really blame her since Lexa would be doing the exact same thing if it was an attractive couple she didn’t know.

Plus, it would take an insane amount to gross her out right now when she was holding a flushed Clarke in her arms. What she wouldn’t give to put her hand under the girls chin and guide their lips together. There was way too much sexual tension going on in this room, but she didn’t want to be the one to break it. 

Her mind flashed back to the last time she had the privilege of seeing Clarke like this. When she was pushed up against her. Soft fingers rubbing slightly under her naval. Watching the peaks of Clarke’s nipples form under her shirt. Listening to the heavenly sound of her light moaning while the girl was enjoying the pleasure happening in her dream. 

Fuck, now she was probably more turned on then Clarke was. Thankfully she brought her pyjamas with her, so she could have a cold shower before bed. 

Both Clarke and Lexa jumped slightly when someone’s phone vibrated on the coffee table. Lexa looked down at Clarke, but she wasn’t meeting her eyes anymore. Shit, did she somehow know that Lexa was thinking about her? Don’t be ridiculous, she told herself. 

“Ugh!” Raven groaned after checking her phone. “Sinclair is freaking out and needs me to send a copy of the project blueprints that he can’t find.” 

“Right now?” Anya replied annoyed. 

“Yes, right now. He is lucky I owe him, or I’d tell him to shove it.” Raven fell back onto the beanbag and pushed the palm of her hands into her eyes. 

“Sorry guys, that’s our cue to leave.” Anya apologised, stretching her arm out so Raven could pull herself up from the beanbag. 

“Oh, no problem. Thanks for coming over.” Clarke stood awkwardly, clearly not knowing what else to do. 

“Do you guys need me to walk you back?” Lexa asked, making no move to get up from the couch yet.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure we can figure it out. Literal genius remember?” Raven pointed to herself with a smug smile on her face. 

“Come on genius. The quicker we get this done, the quicker we can get back to having fun.” Anya smacked Raven on the ass and winked over at Lexa. “Thanks for the bed Lex. See you guys in the morning.” 

“Gross.” Lexa grimaced and waved her friends off. 

“Thanks for bringing them around. Ever since school finished I’ve missed having a group of friends over.” Clarke took her seat on the couch again but sat slightly further away this time. 

“I should be the one thanking you. Those two can be a handful.” Lexa chucked. 

“Don’t worry about it, they are cool. Did you want to keep watching?” Clarke motioned to the TV that was currently paused. 

“Sure.” Lexa nodded

If anyone else was observing the current situation, they would easily be able to tell that both girls were distracted and not paying any attention to the TV. Although they were both trying to avoid looking at each other so they didn’t notice. 

“I think you were right.” Clarke broke the silence.

“Hmm?” Lexa responded but kept her eyes on the TV.

“Being around another gay couple did give me some much needed clarity.” 

Lexa’s heart sank for a moment, thinking that Clarke was going to say that she had changed her mind about liking girls. But she very quickly remembered how flushed she was observing Anya and Raven kissing. 

“Oh, that’s great I guess. Maybe one day you’ll get that girl you’ve been pining for.” Lexa lightly shoved her and chucked even though it hurt to do so. 

“Yeah maybe. I’m not sure if she likes me back though, and I don’t want to ruin what we already have in the hopes of it being something more.” Clarke met her eyes and shyly smiled at her. 

“She would be crazy not to reciprocate your feelings Clarke. You are amazing, and pretty easy on the eyes too.” Lexa smiled back

Lexa felt nervous when Clarke didn’t respond or break eye contact with her. Shit, maybe she went too far. She always rambled when she was nervous, but maybe this time she took it too…

Her thoughts were immediately cut off when she felt Clarke’s hand on the side of her face and watched as she started closing the distance between them tentatively. Her blue eyes looked slightly terrified and contained about a thousand questions. 

Lexa trembled when she stopped mere inches away from her face. Enough that she could feel her breath lightly against her face. It all hit her at once. Was it her that Clarke was having feelings for? Surely she couldn’t be that lucky. Chances of someone like Clarke would be like winning the lottery. But surely she wouldn’t be trying to kiss Lexa just for practice or something.

She must have been thinking too long because Clarke pulled back and her hand fell back down between them. She looked absolutely hurt and Lexa could see the dampness in her eyes even though she moved her face off to the side. Don’t be an idiot Lexa, this might be your only chance. She lightly took hold of Clarke’s wrist with one hand and used her other one to guide Clarke’s eyes back towards hers. 

“Me?” Lexa swallowed the lump in her throat.

Clarke nodded sadly. “I’m sorry. Shit. Just forget this ever happened.”

“But I don’t want to.” Lexa’s voice turned so confident she almost surprised herself.

“Don’t want to what?” Clarke looked at her questioningly, sadness still etched on her face. 

“I never want to forget the day I became the luckiest girl in the world.” Lexa placed Clarke’s hand back on the side of her face and smiled sweetly at her before closing the remaining distance between them.

She was careful at first, not wanting to rush into this. It was Clarke’s first kiss with a girl after all and she wanted it to be perfect. She just barely grazed their lips together, letting them breathe in the same air before she placed the sweetest kiss against tentative lips. It took a few seconds before Clarke kissed back. If you asked Lexa, it would be the longest few seconds of her life. 

But the wait was well and truly worth it when she felt Clarke return a similarly sweet kiss to her lips. Her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest at the feel of soft pink lips moving slowly against her own. She felt a slight dampness of her cheeks, so she pulled back slightly to look at Clarke who still had her eyes closed with tears running down her face.

Lexa wiped them away with the pads of her thumbs and kissed her nose when blue eyes opened to look at her lovingly. Clarke chuckled, and her face morphed into a huge smile while the last of her tears escaped her eyes. 

“That was perfect. You are perfect. Thank you.” Clarke grabbed both sides of her face and brought her in again for another kiss, this one a lot less unsure than the last. 

“Ditto. But you have nothing to thank me for. Come here.” Lexa opened her arms wide so Clarke could lay down on her. 

“I know you are still trying to figure out your feelings, so this doesn’t have to go any further if you don’t want it to. Just know that I’m here for whatever you need.” Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear. 

“I have already spent too long figuring things out. I know what I want and how I feel.” Clarke lifted her head up slightly to look into Lexa’s eyes. “I had feelings for you the moment I saw you Lexa. You are the most beautiful and caring girl I have ever met. I would love nothing more than to see where things go between us.” 

Lexa tried her best to hold back the tears she could feel threating to fall. “I would love that too. We can go at your pace ok? I don’t want to overwhelm you with anything.” 

“Do you think we could kiss some more?” Clarke shyly asked.

“I think I can make that happen” Lexa smiled and brought their lips back together. 

They spent the next half an hour kissing softly and sharing light smiles. Lexa couldn’t think of one single place she would rather be in that moment. 

It didn’t take them too much longer to start getting tired after the emotional night, so they took turns showering and changing into their pyjamas. There was no questions or hesitation when they curled up together in the bed and kissed each other goodnight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little bit heated between Clarke and Lexa, and some fun time with Ranya and Clexa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never written anything smutty before so I hope it turned out ok!

Clarke awoke to the feeling of light, feathery kisses being placed all over her face and couldn't contain her smile when she remembered where they were coming from. 

“Finally” Lexa teased in a soft voice. “Kissing you is nice and all, but it’s so much nicer when you kiss me back.” 

Clarke watched Lexa lean in to kiss her on the lips, but stopped her with a hand on the chest. 

“Nuh uh. No kisses until I've brushed my teeth.” Clarke grinned victoriously at the pouty frown on the brunette's face. 

She was worried that she did something wrong when a moment later, Lexa was up out of the bed with no response. Getting ready to apologise, confusion took over her when she watched Lexa walk around the bed and towards her side. Clarke squinted her eyes in response to the playful smirk that Lexa was directing at her. What the heck is she doing? 

“Lex?” She questioned tentatively. 

Just as she started sitting up, Lexa quickly bent down and scooped her up into her arms bridal style, causing her to squeal and wrap her arms securely around the brunette's neck. Surprise was quickly replaced with excitement. She knew Lexa was strong, heck the girl worked out every day. But she never knew that she was strong enough to carry her effortlessly. Finn wasn’t even able to support her weight and failed embarrassingly when he tried. 

“Fuck” Clarke exhaled so quietly she wasn’t sure if Lexa heard. 

She was confused as to where Lexa was taking her but it slowly dawned on her as they got closer to her bathroom. Lexa gently placed her down on the closed toilet seat and moved over to the sink to grab her toothbrush and toothpaste. Awe rushed over her at the thought that Lexa wanted to kiss her so badly that she carried her to the bathroom and prepared her toothbrush. She accepted it with a warm smile and started brushing her teeth, watching Lexa do the same. 

When they were both finished brushing, Lexa handed her two cups, one filled with water and one empty so she could rinse her mouth. She had barely wiped the stray water from the corners of her mouth when the brunette dropped to her knees in front of her and slowly leaned in, waiting for approval before closing the distance. This girl was going to be the death of her. 

Clarke wrapped her hand around the back of the brunette's neck and pulled her forward until their lips met. The kiss was just as amazing as all the previous ones they shared last night. She could barely believe how incredible it felt to kiss Lexa’s amazingly soft, full lips. 

Clarke begrudgingly pulled back from the kiss when her back started to tingle uncomfortably “Do you think that maybe we could take this somewhere slightly more comfortable? My back hurts a bit I’m sure this is probably hurting your knees too.”

“Your wish is my command.” Lexa guided Clarke’s arms around her neck before reaching down and securing her hands around the blonde’s thighs to pick her up again. 

They continued to kiss while Lexa carried her out of the bathroom and over to the couch, sitting down and letting Clarke straddle her. She felt Lexa exhale sharply when she leaned into her fully, letting their breasts come into contact over their shirts. Being so close started becoming too much and not enough for both of them. Their kisses became more urgent and Clarke couldn’t wait to feel Lexa’s tongue slide against hers for the first time. 

Lexa must have read her thoughts because a moment later, she felt a soft tongue drag against her bottom lip. Immediately, she opened her mouth and moaned at the first slide of their wet tongues coming together, causing Lexa to buck her hips in response. Not being able to help herself, she moaned again more forcefully when she felt her centre come into contact with Lexa’s lower abdomen through her thin sleep shorts. She could feel taught muscles rubbing against her clit deliciously even with the barriers. 

“Fuck, Clarke. Is this ok? I don’t want to rush you.” Lexa panted, dark, pupil blown eyes meeting her own. 

“Yes. God this is so hot. I’ve never felt this good before and you’re barely touching me” Clarke gasped.

“Do you want me to, you know?” Lexa looked down between their bodies and dragged her hand up Clarke’s thigh. 

“Oh, um. I don’t think I'm ready for that. I’m sorry” Clarke sat up slightly, so they weren’t touching intimately and looked down in shame. 

“Clarke.” Lexa said softly, using her index finger to bring Clarke’s face level with hers again. “I would never do anything you weren’t comfortable with. I meant what I said last night. You determine the pace, ok?” 

Clarke nodded and moved back in to kiss Lexa softly. “Thank you, Lex. You’re so good to me.” 

“I’m sorry if I ruined the mood. Do you want to pick up where we left off? Or we could go get some breafas..?” Lexa was cut off when Clarke’s eager lips collided with hers again. 

She could tell that Lexa was a bit more hesitant this time around, so she kissed her for another minute before introducing her tongue again. It didn’t take long before they got back to their previous positions, both just as eager as before. Clarke bit on Lexa’s plump bottom lip, causing the brunette to thrust her hips up in between Clarke’s legs again. 

“mmmh, fuck.” Clarke moaned softly against Lexa’s ear when she felt strong, steady hands slide down the sides of her thighs and grab her ass and pull them impossibly closer.

Nothing else in the world mattered at this moment when all she could smell, feel, hear and taste was Lexa. She never knew someone else could make her feel this good. None of her previous sexual encounters with Finn had her this close to cumming. She felt bad that Lexa didn’t have any friction between her legs in this position, so she slid one of the hands down from around Lexa’s neck and cupped her breast through her shirt. 

“Cl-arke.” Lexa gasped, pulling Clarke harder into her and creating a grinding motion that had Clarke panting hard into her mouth. Lexa seemed to appreciate Clarke squeezing her breast, because she could feel the girl beneath her thrusting up in time with her movements while still continuously guiding her centre with her hands on her ass. 

Clarke knew that her underwear was completely ruined. She could already feel how wet she is and was surprised to feel the wetness had already made its way up to her clit, helping smear the sticky mess all over her throbbing nub. It was a little rough with her clothes in the way, but right at this moment she couldn’t care less because the feeling was euphoric. 

“If we, don’t stop, soon Lex, I’m going to cum.” Clarke panted out between breaths, not letting up in her grinding against the brunette. 

Lexa moaned louder then she had heard up until this point and bit down lightly onto Clarkes collarbone. “I want you to cum on me Clarke. Cum for me.” Even before she had finished her sentence, Clarke felt Lexa plant her feet more firmly onto the ground and spread her thighs slightly, so Clarke had more room to move around. One of her hands kept its precious spot on Clarke’s ass cheek while the other ran up her back to aid with a rougher friction. 

Clarke’s whole body started to burn, and her mind went blank as per pleasure took over everything else. If she could see herself right now, she would be completely embarrassed about getting off by dry humping Lexa. But the brunette seemed to be enjoying it almost as much as Clarke. Thankfully Clarke’s parents weren’t home, because they without a doubt would be able to hear her moans of pleasure. “Ohh, mmmm, yeah, Lex. That feels so good! Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t st..Ahhh Fuck!”

Her whole body went taught as she came and screamed her pleasure into the air. She could barely register Lexa still moving beneath her to help her ride out her orgasm, but she was thankful for the prolonged pleasure all the same. She fell back into Lexa completely boneless and entirely satisfied. Never in her life had she experienced such an intense orgasm, even by her own hand. She was thankful that she wouldn’t have to fake with Lexa like she did with Finn.

Enjoying the warm body pressed against her, her thoughts were interrupted with a hand dragging lightly up and down her back.

“I hope that was ok?” Lexa mumbled into her hair, seemingly too shy to look at the flushed girl still sitting on top of her. 

“Lexa that was amazing. You were perfect, thank you. I can’t wait to see how it feels when you really touch me.” Clarke cupped both sides of Lexa’s face and brought their lips together for a soft kiss. 

She felt Lexa lightly stir beneath her and immediately felt bad that she was probably still worked up and in need of release. The thought caused an uncomfortable anxiety to rise in her chest. How was she supposed to make Lexa feel good? She could never top what the other girl just made her feel. Her breathing picked up without her even noticing and soon, soft, caring green eyes locked with hers.

“Hey, what’s wrong? I’m sorry if I did something to upset you” Lexa looked at her concerned.

“It’s not that. You were just so perfect, and I’m nervous that I won’t be able to make you feel that good. What if I stuff it up, or I’m completely terrible at it and you don’t want to be with me anymore.” Her breathing picked up even more and she felt a hand press lightly to her chest.

“Don’t worry about that Clarke. I know you’ll be perfect when the time comes. Shit, you could probably just flick between my legs right now and I’d be a goner. Do you have any idea how sexy you were just now?” Lexa assured her.

“Really?” She asked unsure. 

“I promise. But if you don’t mind, I really need to take a shower right now before these pants stick to me.” Lexa smiled playfully and motioned to her pants. 

Clarke bit her lip just thinking about the mess between Lexa’s legs and it made her throb with want all over again. She had to tell herself to stop being a horny mess and let the other girl up from the couch. 

“You can use my shower if you want, I’ll go use the spare bathroom.” Clarke pointed towards her bedroom door. 

“Ok, how about we go get Anya and Raven afterwards and have some breakfast?” Lexa leaned in and placed a soft kiss to her lips.

“Sounds good” Clarke returned her kiss and took some clothes out of her cupboard before making her way out of the room and towards the spare bathroom.

She was not at all surprised when she stripped off and found her underwear completely soaked through and felt the stickiness rubbing between her thighs. “Ugh” She groaned and turned the shower on cold, hoping to cool off her burning skin. She didn’t want to take too long in the shower so she quickly soaped up and cleaned herself off, making sure not to linger in certain areas that might prolong her time away from Lexa. 

After she dried off and finished getting changed, Clarke went back to her room to see how Lexa was doing. She could hear that the shower was still going and decided to sit on her bed and go through her social media while she waited. Not even a minute later she heard a strange noise coming through the other side of the door where Lexa was. She didn’t want to call out to the girl and startle her, but she was also worried that something might be wrong. So, she quietly pulled herself off the bed and walked towards the door. 

She heard another noise that was a little bit louder as she got closer to the door and set her ear up against the cold wood. Listening for another sign that Lexa was ok, she heard it almost instantly and her lower body throbbed in reaction. She wasn’t sure what the noise was before, but now she was certain. The noises kept growing in urgency and were slightly muffled, but Clarke was certain that the noise was Lexa’s moans of pleasure. 

If that wasn’t enough, she also heard a fast, repetitive squelching noise that almost made her drop to her knees. Lexa was masturbating, in her shower, most likely to thoughts of what happened between them. 

“Fuck” Clarke whispered, backing away slowly from the door and returning to the couch. She decided while waiting for Lexa to finish her shower that whenever they found themselves in another situation like earlier, she was not letting Lexa get away unsatisfied.

******************** 

Clarke tried her best not to make things awkward when Lexa emerged from the shower. She didn’t want her to know what she heard and end up embarrassing her, so she put on her biggest smile and dragged her out of the house, so they could wake up Anya and Raven. 

According to Lexa, it was not surprising that Anya and Raven were already awake. Anya was very much like Lexa with her training regime and dragged Raven along whenever she could. Right now, Raven had no excuses since she was supposed to be taking time away from work. 

Breakfast was light and enjoyable, Raven shared her vegemite with Clarke while the other two girls pretended to gag from across the table and enjoy their cereal. 

“Where’s mum?” Lexa asked Anya whilst also looking around the living area. 

“You didn’t see her? She left about an hour ago to start work.” Anya shrugged, shovelling a large spoonful of crunchy cereal into her mouth.

Clarke was only half listening to Raven ramble next to her about this one time she shook a Kangaroo’s hand, and met Lexa’s panicked expression. Was Indra there when they..? Shit. 

“You guys ok? You look like you seen a ghost?” Raven managed around mouthful of food, pointing her half eaten piece of toast between the two girls. 

Anya burst into laughter, seeming to catch on that they were doing something they probably didn’t want Indra knowing about. “Oh my god, that’s priceless. Your face. Priceless” 

Raven didn’t seem to know what was going on, she obviously missed the first part of the conversation when she was engrossed in telling her own story. She didn’t push for information when Anya returned her eyebrow raise with a mouthed ‘I’ll tell you later’. 

“You will also be telling me later.” Anya whispered to a blushing Lexa. 

Clarke took that time to start tidying up the table and doing the very limited number of dishes that she tried to distract herself with as long as humanly possible. When she returned to the table she noticed that Lexa’s face had gone the shade of a beetroot and Anya was slapping her on the back. She really hoped that Lexa didn’t share too much information but knew that Anya and Raven probably didn’t know her well enough yet to tease her about it. 

“So..” Clarke broke through the now silence. “What is the plan for today?” She leaned her upper body against the chair she was sitting on before, not wanting to sit down and assume she would be part of whatever they were going to do. 

“Dunno, Lex?” Raven asked, directing her attention away from her phone to the other brunette. 

“I hadn’t really planned anything for today. I thought you guys might want to have a look around, and maybe tomorrow we could go into Polis for the day?” She looked between the three girls, gauging their reactions. 

“Fine by me. What’s good to do around here Blondie?” Anya asked Clarke.

“I live here too you know.” Lexa retorted which earned a playful shush and a tap to her lip from Anya.

“Oh um. Swimming, Hiking, watch movies. Nothing too exciting.” She shrugged.

“Wait. You have a pool?” Raven shot up out of her chair, not bothering to push it back in and started walking back to Lexa’s room. 

“I guess swimming then?” Anya laughed

“Sure” Clarke and Lexa said in unison. 

“Gross, you guys are already synced, and you haven’t even fully had sex yet.” Anya playfully smirked at the now blushing couple. 

“Anya!” Lexa exclaimed, shooting her a death glare. 

“Get used to it Lex. I haven’t been able to tease you like this since Costia.” She laughed and turned around to follow the same direction Raven went in. 

When she was out of sight, blue and green eyes finally met again. 

“Sorry about that Clarke, she lives to tease me.” Lexa took a quick glance over her shoulder before walking around the table and wrapping her arms lightly around Clarke’s waist. 

Clarke leaned in to kiss her softly and hummed in delight when Lexa kissed back. “How about we just keep her away from my dad? Those two together would be catastrophic for us.” 

“Deal.” Lexa kissed her again a few more times before pulling back slightly. “my swimming clothes are here so I should probably get changed. Meet you at the pool?” 

“Sure, see you soon.” Clarke squeezed her hand and made the small trek back to her house to get changed. All the previous times that she had gone down to the pool with Lexa, she had worn a shirt and shorts to save her delicate skin from burning. But today she felt like she had to pull out the big guns, also known as the twins. She smiled and nodded to her reflection, the sky-blue bikini that she hadn’t worn in a while matched her perfectly.

***************

Lexa, Anya and Raven were already at the pool by the time Clarke made it there. Seeing how eager Raven was originally, she wasn’t the least bit surprised though. Green eyes immediately found her when she pushed through the pool gate and was hungrily eyeing her up and down. She was giving herself a mental pat on the back before she noticed what the brunette was wearing, and immediately wished she actually had someone to pat her on the back, so she wouldn’t choke on her own saliva. 

Lexa was wearing a very short pair of bright orange trunks and a matching bikini with a black towel slung over her right shoulder. She didn’t know what she wanted to look at first, her toned long legs, abs that were glistening with a light sheen of sweat, her perky breasts or those magnificent lips that she was kissing only this morning. 

“Oh my god guys, stop eye fucking each other and get in the pool!” Anya teased from where she was propped up against the inflatable bed that Raven was relaxing on. 

Clarke shook her head lightly and smiled when she saw Lexa do the same. Part of her wanted to push the brunette into the pool when she saw her hesitantly dip her toes into the pool, but just the thought of where she should put her hands deterred her long enough that Lexa got in before she had the chance. The light hissing noise that Lexa made when she resurfaced alerted Clarke to the temperature of the pool. She always hated getting in when it was cold but was determined not to look weak in front of new people. 

She had just started walking down the steps and could already feel chills when the cold water came up around her knees. A low whistle distracted her momentarily as the took the next step down and was now covered up to her mid thighs. 

“Looking good Griffin! No wonder our little Lexa is so smitten with you.” Raven called out, slightly craning her neck to look at Clarke. 

“Raven!” Lexa scolded, sending the girl a death glare which earned roaring laughs from both Raven and Anya.

“Don’t even try denying it anymore Lexa, after what you guys did this morning I’m surprised you haven’t already..” Ravens sentence was cut off with a loud squeal when Lexa dipped under the water to flip over the bed Raven was laying on. 

Clarke had barely noticed that she was now fully submerged up to her collarbones, too distracted by what was happening between the three girls who were now playfully fighting. Raven didn’t seem to be fairing too well against Lexa so got Anya involved. Unfortunately for Raven though, Anya decided to side with Lexa and now both girls were ganging up on her. 

“Oi Clarke! Help! Two against one isn’t fair” Raven squealed in between being attacked with tickles to her sides. 

Clarke killed two birds with one stone, swimming over to the girls and wrapping her legs around Lexa’s sides and her arms around her neck. “Lex?” Clarke whispered in her ear, watching the brunette swallow before turning her head slightly. 

“Yes Clarke?” Lexa mumbled.

Lexa girl was as unmoving as a statue. Hopefully she didn’t cross the line by being openly affectionate in front of her friends. 

“Give Raven a break and kiss me?” Clarke pleaded with a small pout on her lips. 

She let out a small breath of relief when Lexa wrapped her hands around her legs, so she could disentangle them and spin her around to face her front. Lexa lightly placed a cool, damp hand on her now heated cheek and kissed her chastely on the lips. After the pulled away from the kiss, Clarke winded her arms back around Lexa’s neck and placed her cheek up against the brunettes. 

“Thank you for all of this Lexa. I don’t know how I got so lucky to find someone as sweet as you.” Clarke tightened her grip around Lexa and pulled her impossibly close, so they were flush against each other. Lexa was lightly swaying them, and Clarke swears she has never felt this content before. Being in the arms of a girl she cares about that treats her better than she thinks she deserves. 

“I will be as sweet for as long as you want me Clarke. Thank you for taking a chance on me, I’ll try my best to make sure you never regret it.” Lexa pulled back from the embrace slightly to leave a sweet, barely-there kiss to Clarkes cheek. 

“So whipped.” She hears Raven whisper to Anya before Raven loudly clears her throat.

“Clarke, I appreciate you saving me back there before so I’m giving you pre-warning. If you don’t move away from the sneaky parasite you are currently wrapped around, I cannot guarantee your safety in the next round.” Raven says determined.

Both girls turn their attention away from each other to see Raven hovering off the side of the pool with a giant water gun that Clarke didn’t even know they had. She felt both of Lexa’s hands on the sides of her waist pulling her off carefully. 

“This is my fight Clarke, I don’t want you getting caught in the crossfire.” Lexa looks so stern and composed that Clarke couldn’t help letting out the laugh bubbling at the back of her throat. 

“Sure babe. I’ll sit over by the stairs until you’re done.” Clarke lightly pat Lexa’s cheek and watched her face morph to awe at the term of endearment. With one last kiss on the lips, they pulled away just in time for Lexa to get a face full of water courtesy of Raven. Clarke saw Anya sitting at the edge of the pool with her legs dangled in and decided to go sit with her while the other two sorted out their quarrel. 

“Mind if I sit with you for a bit?” Clarke asked, pulling herself up out of the pool next to Anya. 

“Coarse not Blondie, I wanted to talk to you anyway” Anya smirked.

Clarke was pretty sure she knew what Anya wanted to talk about but figured there was no way she was getting out of this. Loud splashes distracted the both of them and they turned their direction back to the other end of the pool where Raven had fallen in and Lexa was hovering over her with a smug grin on her face. Clarke couldn’t help the smile the blossomed on her own face seeing Lexa this carefree. 

“She really likes you, you know.” Anya kept her eyes trained forward, chuckling when Raven managed to pull an unsuspecting Lexa back into the pool with her. 

“I really like her too. I feel like I found a missing piece when she came into my life.” Clarke could barely pull her eyes away from the beautiful girl that was slowly stealing her heart but managed to do so when she saw Anya looking at her from her peripheral vision. 

“Both her and Indra have that kind of effect on people. I don’t think I’ve ever met two more selfless people in my life, and I probably never will.” Anya smiled sadly.

Clarke knew this was an important conversation, so she gave Anya her full attention and tried to ignore the occasional squeals, taunts and splashing happening around her.

“Has Lexa mentioned Costia to you?” Anya asked.

“Yeah, she opened up and told me what happened between them.” Clarke confirmed, looking down at her hands in her lap, feeling slightly inadequate compared to Costia.

“She went through a really tough time when that went down. I’ve never seen her that destroyed. She couldn’t concentrate on school, she barely wanted to leave the house and I could tell that she rarely thought of anything else. It’s taken her so long to realise that it wasn’t her fault, and I’m still not convinced that she fully believes that.” Anya placed a comforting hand on Clarke’s knee so get her attention. 

“In saying that, I have also never seen her as happy as she is now, and I know that I have you to thank for that. You brought the old, confident Lexa back, so you have my approval.” Anya finished.

Clarke was on the verge of tears, not realising how much of an impact she had on Lexa. Obviously she knew all about how much the girl had helped her, but never understood that it was two sided. She felt more confidence in whatever was between them flourish at Anya’s words. 

“Thank you, it means a lot. I promise I’ll try my best to make sure she always knows how special she is.” Clarke assured her. 

It went quiet between them for a few minutes, both of them content on watching Lexa and Raven tire themselves out by wrestling on the lawn up against the pool fence. 

“You know, I thought you were going to give me the whole ‘you hurt her and break your legs’ kind of speech.” Clarke used air quotes to emphasise.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. You look just as whipped as she is, so I have no doubt that if you hurt her, you’ll probably be hurting yourself just as much.” Anya chuckled. 

“Can’t fault that logic.” Clarke laughed.

Raven joined them a moment later and slumped down in Anya’s lap, cuddling up against her chest. Clarke thought it was adorable how Anya pulled her up further against her and kissed the top of her head, listening to her incessant rambling on how Lexa didn’t play fair.

“I’m hungry” Raven wined.

“You guys can come over to mine for lunch if you want? We have plenty of food in the house, so I can make us all something.” Clarke offered

“That sounds great, thanks Clarke. You might want to go get the other little whiny mess over there though.” Anya pointed in the direction of the grass where Clarke could see Lexa laying on her back, splayed out like a starfish. 

“Ok, you guys can go ahead if you want. Indra’s probably the only one in the house so you won’t have to awkwardly talk to my parent’s or anything.” Clarke said as she got up and walked towards Lexa.

She could barely believe the effect that the other girl had on her. All she was doing was approaching her and already her heart was beating out of her chest at the sight of her. Lexa had an arm slung over her face keeping the sun out of her eyes and her chest was rising and falling slowly. If Clarke didn’t know better, she would think that Lexa had fallen asleep. 

“Lex” Clarke sat down next to her and put her hand on the other girl’s arm that was resting in the grass. 

“Can’t move. Gonna stay here. Bring food.” Lexa mumbled 

Clarke laughed and moved to lay down with her, resting her head on her chest and trying her best not to perve. She slung her arm over Lexa’s abs and lightly ran her thumb up and down her side. 

“But if you don’t get up, how are you going to kiss me?” Clarke teased.

Her heart melted when a moment later, Lexa puckered her lips but didn’t move any other part of her body. She looked so cute, lips waiting in an adorable pout that made every part of Clarke want to lean in and kiss her. But she had to persevere to get Lexa into the house. 

“Nope, no kisses until you get up.” Clarke laughed and rolled away so she could sit up on her knees and move out of arms reach. 

Lexa actually wined when she felt Clarke move away and her puckered lips were replaced with a deep frown. 

“Please Clarke? I don’t think I have the energy to move until I get a kiss.” Lexa moved her arm way from her eyes and gave Clarke her best puppy dog eyes.

Who was Clarke to refuse such an offer? She definitely wasn’t strong enough to move away from this one.

“Fine. But you are getting up afterwards, right?” Clarke asked.

She saw the brunette nod so moved back over to give her what was promised. When she leaned down to connect their lips, she felt Lexa’s arms come up and wrap around her middle and bring their bodies together. She had to suppress moan at the feeling of their almost naked bodies slotted together and reluctantly pulled back when Lexa tried to deepen the kiss.

“Come on! Time for lunch.” Clarke slapped Lexa’s leg and grabbed her hand, so she could pull her up, but she wouldn’t budge. “Fine, I guess I’ll just send Anya and Raven back to your house and have a nice long think about our morning together while I slip into bed.” Clarke turned her back to Lexa and started walking away, determined that her choice of words would have the desired effect. 

She barely made it three steps before she felt her legs being lifted off of the ground. Lexa had picked her up and slung her over her shoulder, running out of the pool area and towards the house at a very fast pace considering she was carrying Clarke and had just run around the pool for an hour. 

They were back at the house less than a minute later and Clarke was still trying to stop herself from laughing at Lexa’s eagerness. 

“Let me kick them out so we can spend this afternoon in your bed instead” Lexa smiled smugly and was about to burst into the house when Clarke stopped her.

“Lex, your friends aren’t here for very long, so you’ve got to spend as much time as you can with them. I think Anya really missed you.” Clarke ran her thumbs over the back of Lexa’s knuckles.

Lexa let out a sigh and seemed to calm down a bit at that. “Fine, but I’m getting rid of them early tonight, so we can make out.” Lexa winked when Clarke bit her bottom lip and nodded her agreement. 

It was going to be a very long day for the both of them...


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to polis, and a much anticipated conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the new Kudos and comments, I really appreciate them! 
> 
> Does anyone think that there is much dialogue in the story? I'm always worried that I get caught up in it.

The following day didn’t really pan out as Lexa had hoped it would, but she couldn’t complain too much when she woke up in a familiar large bed with a face full of blonde hair. Anya and Raven spontaneously decided that after lunch would be the perfect time to leave for Polis, even though they had planned on leaving the next morning. She wasn’t really in a position to deny them anything when Clarke enthusiastically agreed to drive them all and said that her mum wouldn’t be staying at their apartment for a few days. 

So, they spent the next hour after lunch packing enough belongings for the next couple of nights in Polis, and before they knew it they were on the road listening to the ridiculous techno music Raven put on. Lexa swore that she only decided on that playlist because Raven knew how much she hated it, so she spent the car ride talking to Anya about their studies and enjoying the way Clarke kept looking at her. 

By the time they got to Polis it was nearing 4PM so they decided to explore the city before going back to the apartment. Clarke took them all to Trikru after she let slip that she had just dropped off some paintings there earlier in the week and Anya demanded that they go there. Anya was adamant on buying one of the paintings, but Clarke promised to paint something special for her instead. 

Time passed quickly as the four of them weaved in and out of shops and down streets, talking like they had all known each other their whole lives. Lexa tried to steal as many kisses as she could from an equally willing Clarke when they didn’t think anyone was watching. 

They were all tired by dinner time and voted against eating at a restaurant and going back to the apartment with enough Chinese to feed a small army. Clarke gave Anya and Raven a tour of the apartment while Lexa set up everything for dinner. The night was spent watching movies and trying to make Lexa blush. 

It was 11pm before they knew it and they were all much too tired to do anything else, so they said their goodnights and went off to their bedrooms. Clarke and Lexa were both feeling the effects of the day, so their chase goodnight kisses didn’t turn into anything else and fell asleep curled around each other. 

Lexa sighed and relaxed more comfortably against the warm body moulded with hers, wrapping her arms around the still sleeping blonde and pulling her impossibly close before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

That is how she found herself in the large apartment bedroom cuddled up to the girl she was rapidly falling for. She wasn’t sure if she should reel her feelings in slightly or show Clarke at every opportunity how much she was affecting her. The last thing she wanted to do was overwhelm her when she knew the situation for Clarke was already so new and maybe a bit confusing. 

After ten or so minutes day dreaming, Lexa could hear light commotion coming from somewhere in the apartment. She turned her body slightly so she could pick up her phone to check the time and wasn’t too surprised that it was already nearing 9:30am. Anya being such an early riser is probably crawling out of her skin trying not to make too much noise. Normally Lexa would be right out there with her, but she couldn’t find the strength to leave the comfort of soft sheets and a warm body of the girl she cared for. 

She was just about to fall back into slumber when the sound of something metal hitting a benchtop followed by swearing jolted her out of her dreamlike state. The largest part of her wanted to ignore it and let Anya figure it out herself, but she didn’t want them destroying anything and possibly being in the firing like of Abby Griffin. Internally groaning, Lexa tried to manoeuvre herself out of bed without waking Clarke and set off towards the source of noise. 

She was just about ready to start scolding Anya and asking her to be quiet but was completely surprised when her blonde friend was nowhere in sight. Raven was the last person she expected to see up first, obviously attempting to make something to eat. It shouldn’t be all that surprising though, anyone who knew Raven also knew about her bottomless pit of a stomach. 

“Raven” Lexa harshly whispered. “Can’t you keep your appetite under control for just one day and let us sleep?” 

“No can do Lexy Loo. Anya already kicked me out of the room because my stomach sounded like a bear. Hey, do you know where the plates are?” Raven walked around the kitchen and started opening door after door with no intention on trying to keep quiet. 

“Seriously Raven, were you never taught the difference between an inside and an outside voice?” Lexa sighed, hip bumping Raven out of the way and pulling out a few plates to put on the counter.

“Yeah, but it’s late enough in the morning that those rules don’t apply.” Raven shrugged, putting her toast onto the plate and moving over to the dining table with her breakfast. 

Lexa chooses to let the comment slide, she knows that arguing with Raven about something like this wasn’t worth it. 

“Where’s Anya?” Lexa asked from the kitchen while putting a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster for herself. 

“Still asleep” Raven shrugged and wiped some of the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

“Anya, still asleep at 9:30? What happened to her?” Lexa questioned.

“Now I know you only just started dating Clarke, but I’m sure that you remember from previous relationships that sometimes when two people love each other very much..” Lexa cut her off before she could go any further, cringing slightly.

“Really don’t need to hear that. Thanks” Lexa grunted.

“That’s fine, I’m actually surprised you didn’t hear it last night.” Raven smirked around a bite of her toast.

Lexa shook her head to try and clear the disturbing thoughts. “Seriously, can we not talk about the love life of my two best friends?” 

“Alright, alright. So, what’s the deal with the Griffins anyway? This place is insane” Raven waved her hand around motioning to the surroundings. 

“I know, it’s only my second time here and I still can’t believe how nice it is. Her parent’s both have really good jobs.” Lexa agreed, handing Raven a cup of water and sitting down opposite to her. 

“Marry Clarke and you’ll be set for life.” Raven almost whispered, looking out the large glass windows. 

“As nice as this all is, the most amazing part of it is being here with Clarke. I don’t care about how well off she is. I would gladly be with her in any capacity.” Lexa’s eyes drifted off towards the spare bedroom to where Clarke currently was while she absentmindedly played with her breakfast. 

“Yeah I know. I’m really happy for you Lexa. You picked a good one.” Raven offered her a genuine smile that Lexa found herself reciprocating immediately. 

“Thanks.” Lexa nodded.

Both girls ate the rest of their breakfast, catching up on each other’s lives and laughing about the past. Lexa felt the table vibrate and went to check her phone, knowing that it was probably her mother since the only other 3 people she would normally talk to where all here with her. She was pleasantly surprised though when she noticed that the message was from someone she wasn’t expecting to hear from.

9:49 AM Costia – Hey Lex, I hope this doesn’t wake you, but I just wanted to let you know it was amazing seeing you at the party and was wondering if you wanted to hang out soon? 

Lexa smiled down at her phone while reading the message, causing Raven to tilt her head looking slightly confused. 

“Is Clarke messaging you from the bedroom? I hope she doesn’t feel uncomfortable coming out here, it is her place after all.” Raven looks over to the bedroom as if it has the answer to her question. 

“Um no actually, it’s Costia. She wants to hang out.” Lexa doesn’t bring her eyes up from the phone, trying to think of how to respond. 

She knows that Costia lives in Polis and now might be the only opportunity in a long time for them all to hang out again. 

“You know Anya and I would love to see her, but is that really such a good idea when Clarke is with us?” Raven questions. 

“Why not? Clarke knows that I don’t feel that way about her anymore. I think it would be a good thing for them to know each other. Especially if Clarke and I start becoming more serious.” Lexa finally looks up at Raven, not wanting to respond to the text message while Raven was obviously unsure. 

“I guess so. But Costia still has feelings for you. Have you even told her about Clarke?” Raven grabbed both of their plates and went to put them in the kitchen sink. 

“Well no, but that only just happened so it’s not like I was going to text her about it straight away. That would just look like I was rubbing it in her face.” Lexa put her phone back on the table when the screen went black from not typing. She turned around to face Raven who was now leaning up against the kitchen counter. 

“And how do you think it’s going to look when we all turn up and she finds out that you and Clarke are an item?” Raven keeps her eyes on Lexa but points her thumb in the direction of their bedroom. 

“I don’t know what we are right now. We haven’t spoke about it yet and I don’t want to rush her into making any decisions. I really care about her Rave.” Lexa lowered her head into her hands, not knowing what to do about the situation.

She thought it was all black and white. Invite Costia to hang out with them so they could all catch up, let Clarke get to know her a bit better and all have a great time. But what Raven is saying does make sense. 

“If you want us to all hang out it’s fine Lexa. I just think you might need to talk to Clarke beforehand. Costia doesn’t deserve to be blindsided” Raven put her hand on Lexa’s shoulder. “I’m going to wake Anya up, you should probably do the same with Clarke otherwise we won’t be getting much done today.” 

“Ok, thanks for the talk.” Lexa squeezed Ravens hand before both of them made their ways back to their respective bedrooms. 

Lexa didn’t want to leave it too long before messaging Costia back, so she decided to do so before Clarke woke up and would undoubtedly distract her from anything else. 

10:05 AM Lexa – It was nice seeing you too, I think it would be great to get together. What are you up to today? I’m in Polis with Anya, Raven and Clarke so it would be cool if we could all hang out. 

Lexa quickly went to the bathroom and by the time she got back into the room to check her phone, she had a response from Costia. 

10:07 AM Costia – OMG! I would love to see Anya and Raven again! It will feel like the old gang is back together :) What are your plans for the day? 

She sat on the end of the bed trying to decide how to reply to that message. The only time ‘the gang’ was ever together was when Lexa and Costia were dating, so this would probably be much different then the old times. Shit, what if Costia tried kissing her again with everyone around? That would put everyone in an uncomfortable situation, especially Clarke. 

Clarke. She really needed to speak with Clarke. Thinking back to Lincolns party, she really shouldn’t have let Costia initiate a kiss, and most definitely shouldn’t have kissed her back. If she could go back in time, she would but back then she never thought the possibility of her and Clarke could ever be anything more than friendly. 

If she made plans for later dinner tonight, that would give her plenty of time to talk to Clarke beforehand. She looked back over at the last message again before replying and realized that Costia didn’t even mention Clarke in her last message. Lexa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, she really didn’t want to upset Costia but had to get this over with at some stage. 

10:11 AM Lexa – I already spoke with Raven about it and she was really excited. I just have to check with Clarke when she wakes up, but how about we all get together for dinner? 

Lexa left the conversation open on her phone, holding it lightly in her hand and staring at the blank wall ahead of her while she waited for a response. She was so deep in thought that when she felt a set of arms wrap around her abdomen, she jumped slightly. 

“Mmm, morning.” Clarke kissed her cheek and buried her head in the side of Lexa’s neck. 

“About time you woke up. I thought you didn’t like morning kisses?” Lexa smirked, turned her body slightly so she could look at the blue eyes she didn’t want to go a day without. 

“I kissed you on the cheek, it’s much different.” Clarke tried putting on a serious face but was failing miserably. 

“Oh! Of course, of course.” Lexa nodded with stern features, trying to catch Clarke off guard so she had a chance to playfully push her down and pepper her face with kisses. 

“Lex!” Clarke squealed, holding onto the brunette’s sides and unsuccessfully trying to flip Lexa over. 

“What? I thought they were fine so long as they weren’t on the lips.” Lexa pulled back and smiled down at the beautiful girl underneath her. 

Lexa could have died happy right now by the way Clarke was looking at her. Her eyes shone with adoration and she had a great big beaming smile across her kissable lips.

“You know what. You were tickling me!” Clarke laughed and playfully slapped Lexa on the chest. 

“Can I please please please kiss you on the lips now?” Lexa put her best puppy dog eyes on and pouted her lips. 

“No, I can’t be scaring you away with my morning breath already! We only just started… you know.” Clarke broke eye contact and played with the collar of Lexa’s shirt.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” Lexa reached down and guided Clarke’s face back up to hers with her hand. 

“Oh, um, ok.” Clarke responded, looking more nervous than Lexa has ever seen her before.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.” Lexa reassured her by placing a soft, barely there kiss on her cheek and smiling down at her. “I know it’s soon, so you don’t have to say yes yet, and you can tell me whenever you’re ready. But if your never ready you can also tell me that too.” Lexa was blabbering which thankfully caused Clarke to chuckle and lighten the mood.

“Get to it the point.” Clarke teased.

“Would you like to me by girlfriend?” Lexa rushed the words out so quickly that she hoped Clarke actually heard them. By the look on the other girls face she could see that she had though.

Clarke was completely still and looked shocked. 

“You want me to be your girlfriend? You, Lexa Woods would like me, to be your girlfriend?” Clarke whispered. 

Lexa panicked at her reaction, thinking she was prolonging her answer as no and couldn’t believe why Lexa had even asked her. So, she sat up quickly and moved to the edge of the bed where Clarke couldn’t see her face. She didn’t want her to see the tears that had started building in the corners of her eyes. 

“Sorry, I know you’re still figuring everything out yourself. It was stupid of me to ask so soon. I’m an idiot to think…” Lexa got up and started making her way to the bathroom but was stopped by a hand wrapping around her wrist. 

“Lexa wait. Come sit down please?” Clarke gently urged her back onto the bed and was trying to meet Lexa’s eyes which were completely unwilling. 

“Just forgot I even asked, I’m an idiot. I’ve probably ruined everything now.” Lexa was trying to distract herself by ringing her hands together, waiting for the devastating blow that was surely coming her way. 

“You are an idiot.” Clarke got off the bed and walked to stand in front of her so she could finally get her to look at her, but Lexa refused to meet her eyes. 

“Lex, look at me please?” Clarke used her thumb and index finger to guide the brunettes face up to hers but Lexa was stubbornly fighting it. “Please babe, look at me.” Clarke pleaded, her own tears starting to form.

The term of endearment worked like a charm. Lexa’s couldn’t believe what she heard and almost got whiplash at how fast her head flew up. When their eyes finally met, all Lexa could see was love and kindness pouring out of Clarke’s features. Maybe they weren’t doomed after all.

“I would love to be your girlfriend. There has never been anything in my life that I have wanted more than this. I never thought I could feel this way about another person so quickly, but what I feel for you has already surpassed anything I have ever felt for anyone else. It may take me some time to get my head around some things, but if you’re willing, I want to learn how to deal those with you.” 

Lexa started balling her eyes out, no longer able to stop the inevitable flood. But as soon as they started, she was wrapped in warm embrace by the arms of her girlfriend. Just thinking about that made her sob even harder. Never in her life did she think she would get this lucky, to care for someone so beautiful inside and out, and for them to care for her just as strong. 

It was different with Costia. She was Lexa’s first love and the first person to fully accept who she was in every way, which she will forever be grateful for. But Lexa felt like Clarke fit with her in every way possible. The yin to her yang. She knows it’s silly to think such strong thoughts this soon into knowing each other. But she doesn’t think she has felt so sure about anything else before. Clarke Griffin was quickly on her way to becoming the love of her life. 

“I know it’s not allowed, but for this once do you think you could make an exception to the no kissing before brushing teeth rule?” Lexa knew she sounded pathetic, but right now she only wanted one thing and felt like she needed it to solidify their relationship. 

Clarke didn’t’ say anything, she just cupped her face into her hands tenderly and placed the softest kiss onto Lexa’s lips. It only lasted a couple of seconds but was more perfect then anything she could put into words. 

“Only because you’re my girlfriend.” Clarke winked at her and dried some of the tears off Lexa’s face with her thumbs before leaning in for another kiss and walking off to the bathroom quickly to get some tissues for Lexa. 

When Clarke walked away Lexa glanced over to her phone and was reminded of the previous conversation she was having with Costia. Clarke came back just as Lexa was picking up the phone and placed the tissues next to her on the bed. 

“Your mum?” Clarke asked gently.

Lexa picked up one of the tissues and wiped her nose as gracefully as she could, trying not to gross out her new girlfriend. Girlfriend. Just the thinking about it made Lexa’s stomach swoon with emotions. 

“No actually, Costia. She wants to hang out with all of us while we are in Polis. I was thinking that maybe we could all go somewhere for dinner together?” Lexa got up off the bed for a moment to drop her tissues into the small bin next to the dresser. 

She could see the slight hesitation in Clarke’s eyes so wanted to be quick to reassure her. 

“You are the one I want to be with Clarke. I’m sorry, I never should have let Costia kiss me that night and it meant nothing more to me than trying to comfort her. I know that sounds like a completely stupid reason to kiss someone back, but it completely threw me off guard and I didn’t want to upset her by denying her of that. She’s been through enough already.” Lexa hang her head down in shame but reached for Clarke’s hands, trying to show her she was the only one she wanted. 

“You don’t need to apologise to me Lexa. We weren’t together at that stage and even though it made me extremely jealous to see you kissing her, it’s kind of helped in a way. That was the night I could no longer deny my feelings for you. If there is anyone you need to apologise to though, its Costia. Kissing her back probably gave her false hope of reconciling your relationship.” Clarke pushed Lexa back gently, so they could both lay down on the bed. She rested her head on Lexa’s chest and draped her arm across her stomach. 

“I know, I’ll make it right. Hopefully we can still be friends after this, she does mean a lot to me and I really think you guys could be friends too.” Lexa’s hand came down to lightly stroke up and down Clarke’s arm while burying her face in a sea of blonde and kissing the top of a pale forehead. 

“I don’t doubt you for a second Lex, you have a heart of solid gold. I obviously don’t know Costia very well, but I promise not to cause trouble between you two. If I have a problem with something, I’ll talk to you first.” Clarke exhaled a comfortable breath and cuddled closer into Lexa.

“How did I get so lucky to end up with you? I’m going to thank everything good in the universe daily that it brought you to me.” Lexa whispered into the crown of Clarkes head. 

“We are both lucky. Something my parents once told me that really stuck with me was that if there is only one lucky person in the relationship, you’re in the wrong one.” Clarke replied.

“I like that. But I’d argue that I’m just a little bit luckier.” Lexa smirked when Clarke slapped her leg. 

“We should probably get up. I don’t think Anya and Raven will want to spend their whole time here in the apartment. Plus Raven said that she wanted to check out the museum when we walked past it yesterday, so we could grab something to eat and go check that out?” Clarke suggested. 

“I’m happy doing anything so long as you’re there.” Lexa picked up Clarke’s hand and kissed it.

“Sap. I’m going to have a shower before I get ready. Do you want to go check on them and see if they still want to go?” Clarke moved around the room to check her phone before heading off in the direction of the bathroom.

“Sure you don’t want me to join you?” Lexa had no idea what gave her the courage to say that out loud. Maybe it was because she finally knew that Clarke reciprocated her feelings. 

“You wish. Go check on your friends, I won’t be long.” Clarke made a show of slipping off her shirt from the door way of the bathroom and dropping it onto the floor. 

Lexa’s jaw dropped just about the same time as Clarke’s shirt did. She wasn’t wearing a bra, but she was turned with her back to Lexa, giving her just a peak of the sides of her large breasts. She had to use every piece of willpower she had not to get up and follow Clarke into the bathroom to spin her around. Clarke crossed her arms over her boobs and turned slightly, causing Lexa’s imagination to run wild. But it quickly disappeared when Clarke giggled and shut the door behind her. 

“Fuck” Lexa groaned.

**************

After Lexa had stayed sitting on the bed for a couple of minutes to calm her erratic heart and core, she went to find Anya and Raven and told them to get ready for the museum. Raven was beyond excited and hurried everyone along, almost shoving a piece of fruit in Clarke’s mouth when she mentioned having a small snack before they left. They were out the door in record time, with Clarke being promised that they would stop for food before going into the museum itself.

Raven tried to convince her that there would be a café there anyway, but Clarke outright refused to eat pre packaged food this early. Once they loaded into the car, Lexa grabbed Clarke’s free hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel and laced it with her own. It didn’t take long for Anya and Raven to notice something different about the couple so they admitted about half way into their drive that they had made it official. Clarke almost crashed the car when Raven scared her with a high pitch squeal at the news. 

They chose to go to the restaurant that Marcus had taken them too since it wasn’t too far away from the museum. Despite already having breakfast, Raven ordered a huge stack of pancakes and demolished them before everyone else had even finished eating. 

Lexa was on cloud nine, surrounded by her best friends and her beautiful girlfriend. She was thankful that Clarke didn’t seem to mind the public displays of affection, even though they caught a few people staring at them. It was something that Lexa had come to get used to though. The staring wasn’t judgemental, it was more curiosity. But she did sometimes feel like she was holding some sort of eye magnet whenever she held the hand of another girl. 

She was quick to reassure and explain it to Clarke, who still seemed not entirely comfortable with the staring but wasn’t giving up her hand regardless. 

Once they had finished eating, they got back in the car and drove the remaining 5 minutes to the museum. Thankfully, Clarke and Lexa got in for free since they lived in the area which caused some grunts from an annoyed Anya. 

Lexa was surprised by the sheer size of the museum and how many exhibits they had. Throughout the day the group drifted off from each other occasionally to check out shows that the others weren’t so interested in. Unsurprisingly, Lexa followed Clarke to wherever it was that she wanted to go, pretending that is what she wanted to do all along. Which wasn’t really a lie, Clarke was the most captivating thing in the whole building to her. 

She started worrying as the day progressed though, thinking about what she was going to say to Costia. After she had texted her back and confirmed where they were all going to meet, she started feeling more anxious about introducing Clarke as her girlfriend. She just really hoped that it didn’t break Costia’s heart. Although it may have been easy to hide her distress from Clarke, who didn’t know all of her tells just yet, she couldn’t fool Anya.

“Hey Lexa, come check out the marsupial exhibit with me.” Anya didn’t give her a chance to respond, she just grabbed her by the arm and started pulling her in the opposite direction. 

She turned slightly to mouth an apology to Clarke but the blonde just waved her off with a smile. 

“Raven and I spoke this morning. You don’t have to be worried about Costia, ok?” Anya was busying herself looking at something Lexa was entirely convinced she wasn’t even reading. 

“How did you even..” Lexa started to say.

“Really?” Anya looked at Lexa as if she were stupid. 

“Yeah yeah, known me forever and whatever.” Lexa waved her hand.

“Seriously though. Once Costia how smitten you are with Clarke, because trust me, she will see. She will back off knowing you are happier. I’m sure she still cares about you.” Anya started a slow walk when she received a glare from an elderly couple obviously wanting to have a look at what she was standing in front of. 

“That’s the problem, she does still care about me and I’m worried about hurting her.” Lexa ran her hand through the hair on her forehead and followed Anya’s pace. 

“Stop worrying about other people so much for once and do what’s right for you. You’re just as bad as your mother. As much as I love the both of you, you really need to live your life without the fear of how other people are going to react.” Anya found a seat and slid over, making room for Lexa.

“I know, but it’s hard. I’m really glad you’re here though. I think besides the initial drama, tonight is going to be a good night.” Lexa pulled out her phone to check the time, they would have to leave soon if they wanted to go back to the apartment and get ready for dinner. 

“It will be. We both have each other and our girls, and Costia won’t make things difficult. Just breath ok, Raven and I won’t let it get awkward.” Anya patted Lexa’s leg comfortingly. 

“I’m going to find Raven and try to peel her away from whatever she is looking at, otherwise we will be here all night. Take a few minutes to yourself before going to find Blondie, ok?” Anya got up and walked out of the exhibition. 

Lexa wasn’t sure if being alone with her thoughts was helping or making things worse. She just prayed that tonight wouldn’t be bad for anyone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting with Costia. Plus Clarke and Lexa get to know each other on are more intimate level ;)

Clarke was feeling a lot of different emotions while the four of them approached the modern Italian restaurant they were having dinner with Costia at. Pride at holding her girlfriends’ hand while they walked through the bustling street and not bothering what other people thought about it. Curiosity about how she would get along with someone who used to be romantic with Lexa. But the emotion that was threating to break free the most was her nervousness. Was she going to make a fool of herself in front of her new friends and girlfriend? Would Costia hate her and put Lexa in a difficult position on who to choose? 

She was trying her best to regulate her breathing, but it became painfully obvious to the other three when she released a very noticeable shaky breath. Lexa stopped and eyed her quickly before she had a silent conversation with Anya and the other blonde took Ravens hand and guided to the doors just outside the restaurant.

“Baby what’s wrong? We don’t have to go inside if you aren’t comfortable.” Lexa said, chasing Clarke’s eyes and stroking a thumb over her forearm. 

Clarke let out another long breath, hoping that her nerves would follow the air out of her lungs. 

“What if I stuff everything up tonight? I only just got you.. It would crush me to lose you already.” Clarke replied.

“Clarke” Lexa sighed. “You have to trust me when I say that everything is going to be fine. Will it be awkward to begin with? Maybe. But I know you. You have to much of a good heart to say or do anything that will cause any real damage.” 

“Ok, I’m sorry. I’m just nervous. This will be the first time I’ve ever had to speak to an ex of my partner. I know I won’t be able to help myself talking about you, and I don’t want to seem like I’m rubbing it in her face.” 

“Everything is going to be fine, ok? The door is right there, and we can leave whenever we want to.” Lexa pointed behind them where Anya and Raven were standing. 

“Ok” Clarke exhaled and grabbed Lexa’s hand, giving it a light squeeze before following them through the front door. 

Clarke felt instantly soothed as soon as they set foot into the restaurant. She could smell the tantalising aroma coming from plates that the well-dressed waiters were weaving between the tables with. She could do this. She had to do this, for Lexa.

As soon as Raven finished talking to tall man behind the front counter, they were being shown to their table at the back table of the room. Clarke had been here once before with her parents and it was a good spot to be able to hear everyone without mixing with so many conversations around the room. 

When the table that she had booked came into view, so did a familiar looking girl with light brown hair pulled up into a stylish ponytail. Clarke took note of how happy the other girl looked as soon as she recognised the group. Her honey brown eyes almost sparkling with excitement. But that excitement was short lived as soon as those same eyes drifted down to where Clarke could feel Lexa’s hand in hers. 

She felt horrible for putting such a seemingly nice girl through such an ordeal. If it were here in this situation, she wouldn’t have a clue how to act or keep her emotions in check. Heck, she was struggling with that enough already. Thankfully, the other three girls didn’t seem to notice the turmoil running through either Clarke or Costia. Too excited to be reuniting with their friend and walking faster than they probably should in such a busy restaurant. 

“Costia!” Raven squealed, pulling Anya along with her so they could both take turns wrapping her in a tight hug. Clarke couldn’t really hear what they were talking about, the heavy beating of her heart pounding through her ears drowning it out. 

“Relax Clarke.” Lexa whispered into her ear, leaving a soft kiss on her cheek and still gripping her hand while they approach their company. Clarke has never been more thankful of how sweet and caring Lexa is. She couldn’t imagine having to go through something like this with Finn. That boy was oblivious to anything other than his own feelings most of the time, 

“Hey Cos” Lexa said, letting go of Clarke’s hand to wrap her arms around her ex-girlfriend. 

Clarke would be lying if she said that Lexa letting go of her hand didn’t affect her. But now was no time to be petty and jealous. You are the one Lexa want’s, she kept reminding herself. 

“It’s so good to see you Lex. Thanks for making the time while you are here.” Costia said

Clarke felt more awkward now then she can ever remember feeling before. She doesn’t want to stare at them obviously, but what else was she supposed to look at? The carpet? Her hands? She settled for looking to Anya and Raven until she saw the two girls pulling back from their hug and facing her. 

“Cos, I’d like you to meet Clarke, my girlfriend.” Lexa said, holding her arm out to gesture Clarke to come closer. 

She could feel both sets of eyes on her as she turned fully to face them. She wasn’t sure what to expect from Costia, maybe anger or disgust at having to be in her presence. But the reality was much worse. When she offered her hand out to shake, soft honey eyes met hers and looked utterly defeated. 

“It’s really nice to meet you Costia. Lexa has told me so much about you that I admire you already.” Clarke tried her hardest to sound as genuine as she felt, offering the girl warm smile. 

“Oh, that’s nice of you to say. But I’m sure Lexa has probably given me more praise then I’m worthy of. You’re friends with Octavia, right?” Costia asked.

Clarke kept up the conversation while the three of them moved over to the table to join Anya and Raven who had already sat down opposite each other in the chairs up against the wall. She decided to move around the other side and take a seat next to Anya, leaving Costia to sit at the head of the table with Lexa in front of her, and Costia on her left. It didn’t feel right to sit next to Lexa right now. 

“Yeah I’ve known Octavia since primary school. You guys go to Polis U together, right?” Clarke tried her hardest to ignore the hurt look on Lexa’s face when she chose not to sit next to her. She can’t make this about them. 

“Um, yeah. We have a few classes together.” Costia replied. 

It went silent at the table for a couple of minutes while everyone took a look at the menus. Clarke could see Lexa looking at her more than her menu, so she gave her a small reassuring smile before returning to the menu. 

“So Cos.” Anya broke the silence. “How are you liking Polis?” 

“Not so bad, but I miss having friends like you guys. Feeling like I belong somewhere.” Costia shrugged it off like it wasn’t a very big deal, but everyone at the table knew better.

“You will always belong with us Costia. I’m sorry that we lost contact, but we never once forgot about you. You will always be a part of our family.” Lexa said, carefully placing her hand over Costia’s. 

“Yeah! If you think we were just going to have dinner and talk about the past only to drift out of touch again you are sadly mistaken! You have always been one of us Cos, we love you.” Raven added enthusiastically.

Anya didn’t speak but she did nod in agreeance with Raven and send Costia a playful wink. 

“Thank you guys, it means the world. Really.” Costia said. 

Clarke felt slightly uncomfortable that Lexa didn’t retract her hand straight away, but when she saw the tears brimming in Costia’s eyes she let go of her jealousy. She wasn’t sure if she should add something to the conversation, but what would she say. She barely knows the girl and doesn’t want to speak just for the sake of saying something. 

Lexa pulled her hand back after Costia had a chance to wipe some of the small stray tears off her cheeks. Soon after the waiter arrived at their table and took their orders. 

The rest of the dinner was actually pretty fun for everyone involved. To Clarke’s surprise she even managed to be a part of most of the conversations, excluding some of the childhood stories that occasionally made her jealously flare up at the mention of Lexa and Costia as a couple. 

One of the best things Clarke won’t forget about the dinner though, was the way Lexa just completely let loose. She had never seen the girl so carefree and comfortable anymore. Every time she smiled Clarke wanted to grab a hold of her shirt kiss her lips until they were sore. Evidentially, Clarke was thinking about kissing Lexa the whole night. 

So, when they were all finished with their dinner and paying for their meals, she was in a bit of a rush to have Lexa to herself again. Just as they were walking out of the restaurant though, Costia put her hand on Lexa’s forearm and asked if she could speak with her for a minute. 

Clarke really was trying to stay true to her word and not get between the ex-lovers, but what did Costia want to say to Lexa that couldn’t be said in front of the group? Was she going to tell her how horrible she thought Clarke was and that they shouldn’t be together? Lexa turned to Clarke in a silent question before accepting Costia’s request. Her eyes were so gentle and understanding that there was no way Clarke could deny her anything.

So she nodded her acceptance and was rewarded with the kiss she had been waiting all night for. Raven and Anya said their goodbyes to Costia and swapped contact information with her. To her surprise, when it was Clarke’s turn to say goodbye Costia hugged her just as she had Anya and Raven. 

Ok, I guess I was silly worrying about Lexa and Costia then, she thought. 

“Come on Blondie, Raven has spotted an ice cream stand so we better follow her before she’s gone for good.” Anya said.

“What is with that girl? Seriously, she just ate a whole pizza to herself.” Clarke scoffed in disbelief, following Anya across the road to where Raven had disappeared to.

She knew she shouldn’t, but curiosity got the best of her once she had crossed the road and Anya’s eyes were distracted keeping track of her girlfriend. So she turned slightly to peek at Lexa and Costia who were still standing where they left them, although now they was a lot less room between them and Lexa seemed to be consoling the other girl. 

“Don’t worry Blondie. I have every confidence that you and Lexa will ride off into the sunset together and have a million blonde haired children. You don’t have to worry about her being unfaithful.” 

Anya’s voice scared the crap out of Clarke, knowing that she had just been sprung watching the interaction. She held her head down in shame, not even realising that Anya was watching her. Deep down she knows that Lexa would never do that to her, so why did she feel the need to peak?

She found a bench to sit on that was between the restaurant and the ice cream stand, watching an array of different people pass her, some offering her a friendly smile and others too engrossed in getting where they were going to notice anything else. Raven and Anya seemed to be having a nice moment together, sharing an ice cream and looking at nothing but each other, so she didn’t want to bother them. 

About ten minutes or so into her alone time she felt someone sit down next to her, breaking her out the internal picture she was painting in her head. She smiled when she felt a kiss land on her temple and a strong arm draping across her shoulders. Immediately Clarke met Lexa’s eyes while taking her free hand delicately in hers. 

“Is everything ok? Clarke asked.

“mmm, it will be. Cos was just a bit shocked to see me with someone when as far as she knew, I was single when we last saw each other. She is upset because she was hoping we had a chance, but told me that she really does like you and can see how happy you make me.” Lexa replied 

Clarke sat silently for a few moments, figuring out how to respond to that. Her eyes trained on their hands where she was lightly rubbing her thumb over Lexa’s knuckles. 

“You would tell me if this wasn’t what you wanted, wouldn’t you? The last thing I want is for you to miss out on something better.” Clarke said, keeping her eyes down. 

“Baby. Didn’t you hear what I just said? Everyone can see how happy you make me, so I hope that one day soon you’ll start to notice that yourself.” 

“I’m just scared that the longer we are together, the more I will fall for you and I don’t know what I’d do if in a couple of months from now you realised you’d rather be happier with Costia again.” 

She feels stupid at how quickly her feelings are developing, but she needs to get this off her chest. After wasting so long in a relationship with Finn, she doesn’t want to lie anymore. 

“You don’t need to be scared, I’m already falling for you faster than I ever thought possible.” Lexa said.

Clarke’s heart fluttered every time Lexa said confessed her feelings to her, but this time apart from just feeling it, she believed it. Lexa has never given her a reason to think that she didn’t care about her, so maybe she should start letting some of her walls down that she put up for Finn. 

Instead of responding, she let go of some of her insecurities and connected their lips in a passionate kiss. She put everything into that kiss, hoping that Lexa would know just how much her words meant. Just how much she meant. Neither of them cared about where they were or what other people thought as their lips moved together. Clarke occasionally bit Lexa’s plump lower lip, feeling the brunettes breathing pick up as a result. Just as she was about to slip her tongue into her girlfriends inviting mouth, a loud wolf whistle broke them apart slightly. 

The look on Lexa’s face when they pulled back made Clarke chuckle. She was looking around angrily, trying to find whoever it was that broke the moment. When they noticed Anya and Raven still standing over at the ice cream stand laughing like a bunch of schoolgirls they rolled their eyes. 

“Sorry about them” Lexa said as she put her hand behind Clarke’s neck and brought their foreheads together. 

“Don’t worry about it, I like them. But do you maybe think we could have some alone time tonight when we get back? I kind of want you all to myself” Clarke cuddled into Lexa’s side and lazily draped her arms around her. 

“Of course. How about we watch a movie in our room and let them do whatever they want to do.” 

“Sounds perfect.” 

*********************************

They all made it back to the Griffin’s apartment almost an hour later after Raven had insisted that they both have an ice cream, and that Anya get one of her own so she could eat most of it. Once Clarke had shown Anya how to use the washing machine and Raven teased them for wanting ‘alone time’ they retired to their bedroom for the night.

Clarke was currently laying down on the bed in her pyjamas, watching Lexa pick out a movie for them to watch. Thankfully no one else could see how shamelessly she was checking out her girlfriend’s ass. But who could blame her when it was obviously sculped by the gods themselves. 

“What do you want to watch?” Lexa called out.

“I really don’t care so long as it isn’t scary. I’m not in the mood for a scary movie right now.” Clarke replied. 

No, she wasn’t in the mood for a scary movie. But she was in the mood for something else.

She didn’t even take note of the movie that Lexa choose, but it appeared to be some kind of action movie if the music was anything to go by. Lexa settled into the bed next to her while Clarke grabbed the remote and turned it up a bit louder than she would normally watch it. 

“This may not be the kind of movie to have up this loud Clarke. I’m sure there will be at least a couple of explosions and multiple gunshots.” Lexa said, looking at Clarke curiously. 

But Clarke chose to ignore Lexa’s words, pulling her forward roughly by her shirt and mashing their lips together. She obviously caught Lexa by surprise because it took a couple of moments for her to start kissing back, but when she did she quickly caught up with Clarke’s pace.

“I didn’t really want to watch a movie.” Clarke spoke directly into Lexa’s ear, so she could hear over the background of the movie. 

“N..No?” Lexa asked.

“No. What I really want is to have sex.” Clarke brought their lips back together and felt a moan reverberate from Lexa’s chest. 

She wanted this. No, she needed this. Lexa has been nothing but perfect and she trusts her completely. Her whole body was aflame, and she wanted nothing more than to feel Lexa and show her how much she means to her. 

“Clarke wait.” Lexa pulled back from the kiss, lips swollen and panting hard. “Are you sure this is what you want? You don’t have prove anything to me.” 

Clarke swooned at the care Lexa was giving her even though her eyes were almost black, and she was obviously struggling to calm herself down. 

“I’m positive, please Lex. Touch me, please.” Clarke took a hold of Lexa’s hands and guided them just under her shirt while she pulled her back in to kiss her again. 

The kiss was becoming sloppy and rushed as Lexa slowly moved her hands up Clarke’s body, but both of them were completely into it. By the time Lexa’s hands reached the top of Clarke’s bra and cupped her breasts she was an absolute mess. Clarke arched her back trying to get Lexa to give her more pressure against her chest while one of her hands dug into the back of Lexa’s hair and pulled their faces impossibly closer. 

When Lexa took the message and finally squeezed her breasts through her bra they both moaned. It didn’t take long of Lexa kneading them perfectly before Clarke needed more. So Clarke reluctantly pulled back so she could pull her shirt over her head. Lexa was quick to remove hers too when Clarke tugged at the bottom of it. 

“Did um. Did you want me to take this off too?” Lexa asked, looking down at her own bra. 

All Clarke could do was lock her eyes with diluted green and nod. Everything slowed down almost to a pause at this stage. Clarke was about to see a part of Lexa that she had never seen before, and she was beyond excited. Thankfully, Lexa didn’t prolong her wait as she reached around and unclasped her bra, letting it fall on the floor beside the bed. 

Clarke had never seen such a beautiful site in all her life. Lexa resting her weight on her knees, defined abs and soft breasts exposed while her hair was flowing over her shoulders and back. Clarke’s mouth went dry and she wasn’t able to move from her spot. She was probably gawking like a fish right now, but she would be embarrassed about that later. 

She felt her whole body throb as she took in the beauty of Lexa. Her breasts were smaller than Clarkes, and nipples were a few shades darker but they were absolutely perfect. She felt bad when she noticed how pebbled her girlfriends nipples were, knowing that she was probably aroused and all Clarke could do was stare at her.

“Like what you see?” Lexa smirked at her, grabbing one of her hands and running it from her pant line, over her abs and towards her left breast. 

Clarke thought she was going to pass out as soon as her hand reached its destination, but instead she gained some of her courage back. She didn’t want her other hand missing out on such a valuable experience, so it travelled the same path up the opposite side of Lexa’s body and squeezed both of her boobs at the same time. She could feel Lexa’s nipples on her palms so she pushed her thumbs under her palms and ran them over the stiff peaks. 

She was thankful that she had the forethought to put a movie on, because Lexa breathed out the most glorious moan and tipped her head back at the feeling. It must not have been enough for Lexa though, because she lowered herself down on top of Clarke and pressed their lips together again. Clarke could feel Lexa’s hands sliding up her back while she was still focusing on groping her girlfriend’s chest. She barely noticed her own bra sliding down her arms until she felt the cold air against her nipples. 

Lexa pulled back from the kiss so she could look at the newly exposed skin. Her face was a mix of aroused and awe as she looked at Clarke’s breasts. 

“Can I?” Lexa asked, meeting Clarke’s eyes then looking down at her breasts in question. 

“Please.” Clarke replied, reluctantly pulling her own hands back to give Lexa some room to touch her. She was expecting a similar treatment from what she gave Lexa, so was surprised when instead of feeling hands on her breasts, she felt a warm, wet mouth. 

She doesn’t think anything has felt as good as Lexa’s tongue flicking over her nipple. Nothing Finn had ever done, or even anything she had done to herself felt as good as Lexa’s teeth softly dragging over her sensitive peaks. 

“Your boobs are amazing. I could literally worship them all day.” Lexa said while changing over to the other side and giving the neglected boob some attention. 

“As amazing as it feels to have you touching them, I’m sure you’d like to feel how wet you’ve made me.” Clarke panted, squeezing her eyes shut and dragging her hands down Lexa’s toned back. 

“Fuck. I want to taste you so bad baby.” Lexa moaned, replacing her mouth with her hands on Clarke’s breasts and moving her mouth to her neck. 

Clarke froze. She hadn’t thought about the possibility of Lexa wanting to go down on her. Finn had only done it once and never again after he commented on how unpleasant she tasted. What if Lexa thought she tasted bad too? 

“Clarke? Are you ok? Have I don’t something wrong?” Lexa stopped everything immediately and looked panicked, noticing how rigid Clarke had become.

“No babe you’re perfect I promise. But do you think that maybe you could just use your fingers?” Clarke asked shyly. 

“Of course, baby. We can do whatever you’re comfortable with.” Lexa said as she gave her a soft chase kiss on the lips. 

She could see the disappointment on Lexa’s face, but she really didn’t want to talk about it right now. If they went down that road eventually, it could end up with Lexa leaving her in disgust. But that thought quickly disappears when she sees the care emanating from her favourite green eyes. Lexa would never do that to her. 

Clarke could sense Lexa’s hesitation to move forward now, so she knew that she would have to be the one to progress things again. She brought one of Lexa’s hands back up to her boob and guided the other one to the space between her legs. She hadn’t changed after dinner so was still wearing the same shorts from tonight. Thankfully she didn’t decide to wear her jeans, so it would be easier for Lexa to work with. 

Lexa softly started a dragging motion of her palm over Clarke’s covered centre. Even though there wasn’t much pressure yet, it felt incredible. 

“More” Clarke panted, feeling around Lexa’s body for one of her breasts while her other hand touched as much of her skin as she could reach. 

Lexa followed through with her request by skilfully popping the button of her pants open and dragging the zipper down with one hand. Clarke could barely control her breathing when she felt long fingers push down her underwear and brush over her short, soft curls before dipping into her wetness. She moaned loudly feeling Lexa’s fingers rub slow circles around her clit and was one again thankful for the loud movie still playing in the background. 

“Is this ok?” Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear and left soft kisses along her jaw. 

“I want you inside me. But I want to touch you too.” Clarke replied, moving her hands down and groping Lexa’s ass. She felt proud when she heard Lexa moan in response to her touch. 

Lexa didn’t say anything, but eagerly started unbuttoning her own pants and removing them in a flash. Clarke would have laughed at how cute the brunette was when she was excited, but she was once again paralysed at the first glance of Lexa’s neatly trimmed pussy. She could see how wet Lexa was because her outer lips were shining with arousal that made her own centre throb harder with need. 

She didn’t waste any time removing the rest of her own clothes, wanting to desperately get to the part where Lexa was touching her again. When they were finally naked, Lexa lowered herself onto Clarke and they both moaned at feeling each other completely bare. 

“I’m sorry if I’m not very good at this. So please tell me if there is something I can do to make it better.” Clarke mumbled with her cheek against Lexa’s.

“You’ll be fine Clarke. Just feel what I’m doing to you and try to do the same, ok? There is no pressure on anything right now. It’s just us.” Lexa cupped her face and started kissing her softly, slowly dipping her tongue in Clarke’s mouth and meeting her own. 

She felt Lexa prop herself up on her left arm and move her right hand down Clarke’s body again. Taking her time with to fondle her breasts again before dipping back into Clarke’s slit. She was rubbing Clarke’s clit a bit faster this time and it was taking all of her energy not to cum straight away. All she needed right now was Lexa inside her. 

“I’m ready, please Lex.” Clarke said.

“Ok baby.” Lexa replied, moving her fingers through Clarke’s slick wetness and towards her pussy. As soon as Clarke felt two of Lexa’s fingers enter her, she exhaled all of the breath in her lungs along with a desperate moan.

“Fuck.” She gasped out. 

Lexa started slowly, and Clarke could see her watching for reactions to how she was touching her. Every time she did something Clarke liked, she would do it again for a little while before trying something new. 

As much as Clarke was loving the feeling of Lexa’s fingers rubbing and curling inside her pussy, something was missing. She needed to touch Lexa too. 

She was met with little resistance and a lot of dampness when she ran her fingers between Lexa’s lower lips and felt her girlfriend still for a moment at the feeling. As much as she wanted to tease Lexa and try to figure out what she liked, she wanted to feel her like she was doing for Clarke. When she slipped her fingers inside Lexa, the brunette bit down on her shoulder and groaned loudly. 

They started working in tandem, pushing and pulling against each other with their fingers knuckle deep inside one another. Clarke never knew sex could be like this and she was revelling in the thought that she might actually cum with someone else inside her and not have to fake it so it ends.

She could feel Lexa’s hot slippery walls clenching around her fingers and knew her pussy was probably doing the same thing. Things started to speed up after a couple of minutes and they were both swearing under their breaths and moaning when their lungs actually had enough air in them. 

“You feel perfect baby, I want you to cum for me.” Lexa panted into her ear before nibbling on her lobe. 

“Fuck, Lex. You feel….. so…fucking...good.” 

Lexa ground her palm down on Clarkes clit and set off at a punishing pace in and out of her pussy. Moments later Clarke felt her whole body clamp up and the warmth between her legs turned into pure ecstasy. She would be completely surprised if she didn’t wake up the whole building with the moan that broke past her lips. 

Lost in her own pleasure, she barely noticed Lexa’s walls clamping down on her fingers until a hand took hold of her wrist to keep it in place, so Lexa could ride out her own orgasm.

“That was so hot babe. I’m sorry I didn’t realise you were cumming until I finished.” Clarke said. 

“You were amazing Clarke and I came so hard. I’m thoroughly impressed with your first attempt.” Lexa replied, chuckling against Clarke’s lips. 

She could feel Lexa removing her fingers from her, so she did the same with hers. But she started to panic when she noticed eyeing off her own fingers covered with Clarke’s essence. As quickly as she could, she took a hold of Lexa’s wrist and guided her fingers into her own mouth to suck them off. The last thing she needed right now was for the moment to be ruined if Lexa was put off by her taste. 

She was expecting the taste to be unpleasant, but as she rolled her tongue over the brunette’s fingers to suck off every last drop, she was surprised at how appealing the taste was. 

“Well that’s not fair, I was going to do that.” Lexa pouted and brought Clarke’s fingers up to her mouth so she could give her a taste of her own medicine.   
Seeing Lexa lick her juices off her fingers almost made Clarke want to go for round two, but a yawn broke free from her mouth and she knew she was too tired to go again. 

“Don’t be a big baby.” Clarke replied. 

She wasn’t sure when the movie had stopped playing in the background, but she hoped it was some time after they had finished. 

“Come for a shower with me?” Clarke asked, gently raking her fingers across Lexa’s stomach. 

“Can’t, I’m already sleeping.” Lexa mumbled into a pillow.

“Fine, I guess I’ll just have to wash myself then.” Clarke shrugged and padded off into the bathroom. 

She barely made it past the doorway before she felt an arm wrap around her waist and a kiss being placed on her neck. Tonight was better than anything she could have dreamed of, for once in her life she wasn’t worrying about something or someone. She was just happy and completely content.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the kudos, bookmarks and comments from the last chapter! I hope you all enjoy this one.

Lexa has never felt more at peace then she does at this moment with her bare skin pressed up against Clarkes. She convinced her girlfriend to get back into the bed after their shower without her pyjamas with little effort considering how tired the blonde was. It’s already been more than ten minutes since she woke but couldn’t find the strength or the desire to move a muscle, even with Clarke’s breath tickling her neck. 

She pulled Clarke closer to her, trying to keep her mind out of the gutter when she felt soft breasts and perk nipples drag slightly underneath her own. Last night was amazing and completely unexpected. She thought it would take a lot longer for them to end up having sex but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. She was already missing the warmth between her girlfriends' legs and couldn’t wait to touch it again. 

Taking a few breaths to calm herself, she dragged her fingers up and down Clarke’s back softly and felt a small exhale of breath on her neck.

“hmmm” Clarke mumbled, rubbing her cheek over Lexa’s chest without opening her eyes. 

“Morning baby.” Lexa said, kissing her forehead and moving some of the stray hair off her face. 

All she got in return were more words mumbled against her skin, making her chuckle at how lazy Clarke was in the mornings. Feeling playful and wanting to see the beautiful blue eyes that took her breath away, she slowly moved her hand down Clarke’s back until she was just shy of her ass. She paused and waited for a reaction from her girlfriend, but after receiving none she allowed her hand to drift lower until she was cupping a cheek in her hand and giving it a light squeeze. 

Lexa was pleased when she heard and felt a light moan leave soft pink lips. 

“You have no idea how beautiful you are Clarke.” Lexa whispered against her skin, moving her hand over and giving the other cheek equal attention before daringly dipping her fingers lower until she could feel soft pubic hairs. 

“Le..Lex” Clarke moaned, jolting her head up, suddenly awake and gazing at Lexa with hunger in her eyes. 

“Yes Clarke?” Lexa asked, teasingly running two fingers up and down the blonde's outer lips.

“Fuck.” 

Clarke’s body bucked against her hand in response and Lexa was so close to giving in and sinking her fingers inside her new favourite place right then and there. 

“Don’t tease me. It’s mean.” Clarke pouted.

“Well I wouldn’t want you thinking I was mean, now would I?” Lexa replied, sucking Clarke’s bottom lip into her mouth while she slipped two fingers inside her waiting pussy. 

“Aaah! Oh my god.” Clarke squealed and clenched down hard on Lexa’s fingers.

Feeling every bump and ridge of Clarke’s warm, wet pussy is even more amazing the second time. 

“You have to be quiet baby unless you want Anya and Raven teasing us until the end of eternity.” Lexa kissed the side of her face lovingly while slowly pumping her fingers in and out of the hot channel.

“Fuck. Kiss me then.” Clarke said, pulling Lexa’s face towards hers with a hand at the back of her neck. 

“Hmm I don’t know. I thought there was a rule about kissing in the mornings.” Lexa replied while slowly picking up the pace and watching Clarke’s eyes roll to the back of her head. 

“D..Don’t you..ahh!....dare bring this up right now.” 

Clarke was using all of her limited strength to try and mash their lips together, but Lexa was determined to get her way.

“Well maybe if you retracted said rule, I could kiss you as much as you want.” 

“Ok fine! Just please kiss me, and don’t you dare stop.” 

Her hand was starting to cramp at the awkward positioning she chose, so she quickly retracted her fingers and pushed Clarke down onto her back. She could see the moment Clarke was about to protest so she crashed their lips together and slipped her fingers straight back into the waiting pussy. 

Lexa would never get tired of doing this for Clarke and couldn’t wait for the day she got to taste her. Just the thought of Clarke’s slippery clit between her lips made Lexa moan and want it more than anything.

“Baby?” Lexa asked, regretfully stopping their heated make out session.

“Hmm? Yeah?” Clarke replied.

Lexa could tell that Clarke was trying her hardest to concentrate on her and meet her eyes. But Lexa was almost finding it hard herself with Clarke clenching around her and raking her short nails up and down her back with each drag of her fingers. 

“Is there a reason you won’t let me taste you? Since the first time I checked you out I couldn’t stop picturing my face between your thighs.” 

Clarke sighed and stilled immediately, causing Lexa to pause her ministrations worryingly.

“I’m just scared that you won’t like how I taste. I’d really rather not talk about Finn right now, but after he went down on me the first time he commented about how he hated the taste. Plus, I didn’t enjoy it. It was sloppy and rushed.” 

“Well I don’t want to pressure you into anything, but I bet you anything that he just said those things because he didn’t want to do it. I hope one day you’ll give me the chance to worship your pussy with my mouth.” 

Lexa was thankful when Clarke moaned again in response to her words and didn’t kill the mood. 

“I think one day I’ll be ready to try it again, and when that day comes you’ll be the first to know. But for right now, I can think of something else you can do.” Clarke smirked and guided Lexa’s fingers back down between her legs until she took the hint and pushed back inside her warmth. 

“Anything for you baby.” Lexa replied. Not wanting to waste any more time, she picked up the pace quickly knew Clarke wasn’t too far away from cumming. She could feel the blonde pushing her body up to meet each one of Lexa’s thrusts and could barely muffle the noises by kissing her. 

As much as she wanted this to last forever, she really wanted to make Clarke feel good and knew it wouldn’t be too long before Anya and Raven woke up. Less than a minute of fucking Clarke so hard her wrist started to ache, the blonde stilled and opened her mouth wide in a silent scream. Her head was thrown back and her eyes clenched so tight that wrinkles appeared in the corners. 

A loud groan left Clarke’s lips while the last of her orgasm tapered off, her body finally relaxing and slumping back into the bed. Lexa was in awe as she watched Clarke’s chest rising and falling. Her pink tongue escaping her lips to moisten them. But nothing compared to how Clarke was looking at her like she was everything. 

“I can’t believe you’re mine.” Lexa whispered into Clarke’s ear and placed a kiss right underneath it. 

“Well believe it because I'm not going anywhere.” 

Clarke reached up to pull Lexa into her fully, crashing their lips together and touching every part of her that she could reach. 

“Your turn” Clarke said, pushing Lexa’s shoulder so she was on her back before attacking her neck with licks and kisses. 

A loud banging on the bedroom door had them both flinging up and watching it like someone was about to come barging in. 

“Oi stop having sex you two! We need to head back and see Mumma Woods before we leave!” Raven’s voice boomed through the door. 

Lexa groaned and covered her eyes with her arm and formed a deep pout on her lips. 

“Sorry babe, how about tonight we finish what we started?” Clarke said, pulling Lexa’s arm away from her face to kiss away her pout. 

“Fineee.” Lexa replied, getting up out of the bed and stomping around the room to start packing.

Clarke wanted to laugh but she was too terrified about leaving the bedroom and having to face Anya and Raven who clearly knew what they were up to. Oh god, what if they heard her. 

She knew there was no way of getting out of it when Lexa had finished getting changed and flung the door open, only to start arguing with Raven before she had even closed the door behind her. Clarke could hear their voices outside but didn’t know what they were saying, part of her didn’t want to know though. 

Gathering the rest of her things, she made a quick bathroom stop before readying the room to leave. When she eventually stepped outside the door, taking a few deep breaths, she was met with a cocky looking Anya sitting at the table with her breakfast. 

She blushed so hard that her face felt physically hot, but she wasn’t going to give Anya the satisfaction of knowing that she was embarrassed.

“Good night, blondie?” 

Shit. So, there was no way of getting out of this.

“It was alright I guess, we watched a movie and had a bit of a quiet night.” She shrugged, praying that Anya would leave it alone.

“Uh huh. What movie did you watch?” She asked, smirking down at her bowl of fruit.

“Oh, it was that new action movie. You know the one, it’s been all over Instagram.” Clarke waved her hand like it was no big deal and was internally impressed with herself at how quickly she responded. 

Just as Anya was about to reply, Lexa walked out from Anya and Ravens room carrying a few bags. 

“Lex, Clarke was just telling me about that fantasy movie you watched last night. What was it called?” 

“Uh, I think it was something about dragons.” Lexa shrugged, obviously not noticing the warning look Clarke was throwing her way.

“You guys are horrible liars. We already heard you last night, and you weren’t as subtle as you thought you were” Anya laughed.

Both Clarke and Lexa were now red with embarrassment. Lexa even coughed, choking on her spit and trying her best to hide her face.

Raven came into the room with the rest of the bags and obviously sensed the awkwardness.

“Ahh, did you tell them?” Raven asked Anya with a large grin on her face. 

“Yep. Didn’t want them thinking they were tricky enough to hide it from one of their parents with those pathetic attempts. 

“Really guys! Is this completely necessary?” Lexa said.

Raven took a few steps over towards Lexa so she could slap her on the back. “You know it is! Welcome to the family Clarkie.” Raven replied, laughing at how embarrassed Clarke had become. 

“I think I’m just gonna… I’ll just.. down stairs.” Clarke mumbled, quickly grabbing her bag and heading out the door. 

She could hear Anya and Ravens laughter as soon as she had shut the door. As much as she was embarrassed, she really did like spending time with Lexa’s friends. 

**************************

It didn’t take long for them to finish breakfast and start the drive back to the Griffin Manor. Thankfully Anya and Raven had eased off their teasing slightly on the way back, more concerned with figuring out when they could come back to visit next. 

The drive went quickly and since they had left early, there was barely any traffic on the way there. Clarke punched in the code to the gate and immediately felt relieved being surrounded by the tall trees and lush green grass of the manor. She liked going to the city, but there was just something so serene and welcoming about her home. 

After they all got out of the car and stretched their cramped limbs, Clarke decided to let Lexa enjoy the last of her friends visit on her own. She hugged Anya and failed to avoid an overly sloppy kiss on the cheek from Raven, telling them they were welcome here or at the apartment in Polis whenever they wanted. 

She was so caught up in her goodbyes and looks of affection at Lexa that she had failed to notice the additional car in the driveway. When she got back into the house she looked for her dad to let him know that they were back and proceeded to roll her eyes when he asked if she’d had breakfast. Knowing that he was only asking because he was hungry made her scoff and drag her bag upstairs to her room.

She had an overwhelming urge to pull back the covers of her bed and fall asleep for the next 24 hours. Never in her life had she had such an intense night without being able to blame it on the alcohol. Before she could stop it, a warm flourish began in her chest when she thought about the night before and how sweet Lexa was. Lexa, her girlfriend. 

Clarke barely contained the dreamy smile on her face when she thought about her. It hasn’t been ten minutes and she was already wondering what the brunette was up to. Stop being so clingy Clarke, she scolded herself. 

She wasn’t really sure what to do with herself now that she was alone in her room. It hasn’t happened very often since Lexa had moved here that she finds herself not knowing that she feels like doing. Netflix crossed her mind, but she didn’t really want to continue watching anything that they had been watching together, and she wasn’t in the mood for a movie. 

That nap was becoming more and more appealing as she looked around her room hoping that something exciting was going to jump out at her. The lounge caught her attention and took her back to when the four of them were having a movie night only a few days ago. She remembered how cute Raven and Anya looked curled into each other, kissing like no one else was in the room. 

Inspiration hit, and a thought crossed her mind. She moved around the room collecting her art supplies and dragged them out onto the balcony to set up her easel and a blank canvas. The night in the park still very vivid in her mind, she began to sketch the outlines of her memory. 

Anya had wanted a painting, and this was going to be perfect. 

She skilfully outlined the scene with a light pencil in her hand and her tongue poking out the side of her mouth. It would look somewhat like a puzzle to anyone else watching the process, but to Clarke, no line, curve or smudge was unintentional. 

Almost two hours into it and Clarke’s posture was relaxed and unaffected by the amount of time she had been sitting. Dark hues of paint created the night sky on the canvas and a lamp post was illuminating the space around Raven and Anya. In the painting, Anya had a hand placed on one of Ravens hips and was kissing the ice-cream off the corner of her lips. Raven was holding onto the cone with one hand and was lightly holding Anya’s free hand with her other. Both of them looked at each other like no one else mattered in that moment. 

Clarke always took pride in being able to immortalise people through her art. There was something more intimate about it rather than simply capturing it in a photograph. Instead of just seeing the emotions of the people in the picture, it also brought to life the atmosphere and feelings of the artist. 

Her hand almost slipped and streaked white right through the centre of the painting when she heard a small rock land in the space beneath her feet. 

“Clarke!” 

Ripping her eyes away from her work, she followed the voice below to find Lexa, Raven and Anya all looking at her with smirks on their faces.

“What?” She called out, getting up from her stool and leaning against the ledge of the balcony.

“We have been calling out to you for ages! You’re lucky I didn’t let Raven run up there and sneak up on you like she was planning to do.” Anya said.

“Yeah, thankfully Lexa here knows how to throw. I most likely would have hit you in the head with it.” Raven laughed, smacking Lexa between the shoulder blades. 

Lexa was looking at the ground sheepishly and avoiding everyone’s eyes. Even from up on the balcony Clarke could see the guilty look on her face.

“Well lucky it didn’t go through my canvas either! It’s for you guys after all” Clarke replied, pointing an accusatory finger between the three of them.

“Really?” Anya and Raven said at the same time.

“Yes really, but it’s coming along quite nicely. Maybe I should just sell it at Trikru instead.” 

Raven turned to Lexa and hit her over the back of the head. 

“Look what you’ve done now. I told you not to throw that rock.” 

“Excuse me? You’re the one who went looking through the garden and handed it to me!” Lexa hit her back and Clarke was about to turn around and head downstairs before Anya broke it up. 

“Sorry Clarke. These two don’t know how to behave. We are all excited to see the painting and will leave you to finish it.” Anya glared at the both of them and started slowly walking backwards, pulling Raven down the driveway towards their car.

“We just wanted to say goodbye again before we left. Since Christmas is only a month away we will be back to spend some more time with you guys then.” 

Clarke noticed that Lexa hadn’t moved and was still guiltily looking down at the ground. Surely she didn’t think Clarke was really upset about the rock? She had only been joking. When Raven and Anya leave she will make sure to apologise to her. 

“Ok, see you guys later! I expect a lot of messages and snaps between now and then!” Clarke replied, waving goodbye to them before going back to the canvas to start cleaning up. 

She had a month to finish the painting before Christmas. For now, she would go and see what was up with her girlfriend who had finally followed her friends.   
*************

Clarke was confused when she had finished cleaning up and had heard nothing from Lexa. She half expected a knock on her bedroom door not long after she heard Anya and Ravens car leave, but nothing came. 

She thought about sending her a message but decided against it since she could just go and see her anyway. Before she left the house she changed into a comfortable, slightly oversized T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She could see the smirk on her dad’s face as she passed his office but decided to ignore it. The last thing she needed right now when Lexa was being weird was extra drama.

Knowing that Indra had went back to work at the main house after Anya and Raven left, Clarke forgoes knocking on the door of the Wood’s house and walks straight inside. She knew that Lexa preferred to hang out in her room rather than the lounge area and wouldn’t be able to hear her knocking anyway. Taking a few too many deep breaths while walking down the hallway to Lexa’s room, she tried to steady her beating heart. 

What happened between this morning when they arrived back to the manor and when she said goodbye to her friends? Was she just upset that they had left? Or was it something else? Clarke prayed that the something else wasn’t her. She doesn’t think she would survive Lexa not wanting to be with her anymore. Especially after they had given themselves to each other last night. 

With one final shaky breath, she rapped her knuckles against the cool wood of Lexa’s bedroom door. After hearing nothing from inside, she knocked again a little bit louder. Nothing. Was she even home? Maybe she had gone out for a walk. If so, she probably wouldn’t be too far away. 

Going home felt too depressing when all she wanted was to be with Lexa. In leu of leaving the house, she decided to wait in the brunette’s room until she came back. Maybe she could curl up in her sheets and pretend for a little while that she was here with her. 

She slipped off her shoes and sat down on the bed but stilled when she heard the sound of sloshing water. Making sure she wasn’t hearing things, she stayed still until the sound happened again and confirmed it. The noise was coming from the bathroom, but it wasn’t the sound of a constant stream of water. 

“Lex?” 

The sloshing started again but stilled for a few moments before she heard the response. 

“Clarke?” 

Clarke got up off the bed and rested her forehead against the bathroom door.

“Are you ok babe? Can I come in?” 

After a few moments of silence, she considered going home and letting Lexa have some time to herself. 

“Ok.” She barely heard from the other side of the door. 

She wasn’t sure what to expect when she walked into the bathroom, but it certainly wasn’t a naked Lexa curled up in the bathtub with tears streaking down her face.

Clarke didn’t waste any time rushing over to the tub and kneeling beside it, cupping Lexa’s face in her hands. 

“Babe what’s wrong? Are you upset that Anya and Raven have left?” 

Lexa clenched her eyes shut for a moment and wiped the stray tears with the back of her hand. 

“Yeah but it’s not that.” 

Clarke felt so defeated seeing Lexa this upset. Her heart felt like someone was squeezing it in her chest watching the tears run down her face.

“What is it then? You know you can talk to me about anything.” 

“You’re probably going to hate me though.” Lexa replied. 

“I could never hate you. I care about you more than I ever have with anyone else. So trust me and let me help.” 

Lexa shook her head slightly and took one of Clarke’s hands off her face so she could hold it. 

“Marcus was here just before.” 

Oh, so that’s who’s car it must have been in the driveway, Clarke thought. She nodded for Lexa to continue.

“His personal trainer is looking for a junior worker and he recommended me for the job.” Lexa smiled sadly.

“That’s great! Why are you upset about something like that? It would be so good for you.”

Clarke kissed the back of her hand and stroked her fingers gently with her thumb.

“Because it’s full time, and it’s in Polis which means I would have to move…. move away from you.” She spoke so quietly that Clarke wouldn’t be able to hear if it wasn’t for the silence of the room. 

She felt the hand gripping her heart tighten. Not being able to see Lexa every day would be painful, but Polis was only an hour away so it’s not like they would never see each other.

“This is an amazing opportunity for you. If you want to do it then you should. Don’t think an hours distance is going to stop me from seeing you every chance I get.” 

“But I’ve tried this before with Costia. It was so hard on the both of us, and..”

“Lexa, look at me” 

Silky green eyes met her own and she knew that she would do anything for Lexa. 

“I’m not Costia. This is a completely different situation. If you don’t give up on me, then I’m not going to give up on you, ok?” 

Lexa nodded and buried her head into Clarke’s shoulder. She could feel Lexa’s wet hair and tears soaking her shirt, but she didn’t care. There was no where else she would rather be. 

Part of her wanted to offer to move with Lexa, but she knew that would be too soon for their relationship. One hour was not going to keep her from seeing the girl who was quickly stealing her heart. 

“Do you want to get in with me? I could use a cuddle” Lexa asked.

“Sure, but maybe we should put some more hot water in first.”

Clarke took off her clothes and placed them on the floor in a neat pile while Lexa let out some water from the tub and replaced it with warm water. When Clarke was stepping in she locked eyes with Lexa and felt her heart squeeze for a different reason this time. Green eyes gazed up at her like she was a prize worthy of no one. Her eyes sparkled, and her mouth was slightly agape, taking in every detail that was Clarke. 

“You are so, so beautiful Clarke.” 

Lexa’s hands found purchase on either side of Clarke’s waist as she lowered herself down into the water to straddle Lexa’s thighs. She tried to ignore the fire she felt between her legs at touching the bare skin of her goddess beneath her. 

She draped her arms about Lexa’s shoulders and lowered herself down so they were skin to skin and close enough to claim her lips. They were both content not to make this about anything other than just being there for each other. Their kisses stayed slow and sensual, never progressing to anything heated. Even though they could feel their nipples brushing and the soft hair between their legs grazing every now and again, this felt like more progress than they had made the night before. 

They stayed wrapped in each other until their skin became wrinkled and the water became cold. When they eventually dragged themselves out of the bath they helped each other dry off and get back into comfortable clothes before settling into Lexa’s bed and falling asleep with barely any space left between them.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little bit of a time jump. We get to see a little bit about Lexa's life in Polis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick upload this time around since I have some time off work!   
> I wrote most of this tonight so I hope you all enjoy.

Lexa woke to the frustrating sound of her phone alarm cutting through the calm peacefulness of her slumber. She leaned over to turn it off and slumped back into the bed without opening her eyes yet. If she opened them, she would have to come back to the reality of an empty bed and forget about the softness of Clarke’s lips from her dreams. 

It’s been three weeks since she moved to Polis, and the Griffins apartment still doesn’t feel like home. Without Clarke here, it just feels like a hotel room with no semblance of familiarity. Three more days, she reminds herself. Three more days until and she can drive back to the Manor to spend her days off with Clarke and her mum. 

When she had left, she didn’t realise just how much she was going to miss seeing her mum every day. She can’t remember ever spending this much time away from her. She’s missing the warmth of her hugs and the stability of a helping hand. Not that she really minds cooking and doing chores, but she has never had to mix it in with a full-time job before. 

Stretching her limbs, she finally drags herself out of the comfort of the bed and rubs open her eyes only to be met with more darkness. In her opinion it’s still way too dark for it to be considered morning, but she literally signed up for these early shifts when she took the job. Lexa turned on the bedside lamp that cast a soft glow of light around the room while she started to get ready for work. 

She would often sacrifice time getting ready for extra sleep, so she moved around the room quickly, putting on her gym clothes and tying her hair back into a ponytail. On her way out of the apartment she grabbed a banana off the kitchen bench and demolished it before the elevator had even made it to the ground floor. She was thankful that there was barely any traffic at this time of the morning. The gym was a good 15 minutes away, but she usually made it in 10 without the additional cars on the road. 

When she pulled up into the carpark she smiled at the sight of Octavia’s car parked right near the entrance. They had started to become a lot closer since she moved. Part of her suspected it was Clarke’s doing that Octavia was so eager to be friends with her. She knows that her girlfriend worries that she will get lonely. The thought put a smile on her face. It’s been five days since they have seen each other but they speak as often as they can. More often than not Lexa ends up working 12 hour shifts so she can prove herself to her boss Gustus. The last thing she wanted to do was give Marcus a bad name by recommending her, so she wanted to make him proud. 

The only problem with that was by the time she got home, took a shower and had dinner, she was exhausted and already ready for bed. She would call Clarke as soon as she could though and they would talk until Lexa struggled to keep her eyes open. It’s become a ritual of hers to send Clarke a message before she starts work though, so she started sending her snaps so the notification wouldn’t wake her. 

[Shapchat from CommanderWoods] – Morning babe, I hope you slept well. Three more days until I can have you in my arms again. *Kiss emoji* 

She had to shake the blush off her cheeks when their saved conversation came up above her message. It had started when Clarke sent her a picture in her bikini down by the pool and progressed to them having phone sex for the third time that week. Anyone would think it had been months since they last saw each other with the way they act. But neither of them cared what anyone else thought. 

Lexa jolted out of her thoughts when she saw the time on her dash and realised she was a minute late. She had a class to run this morning so being late would definitely be frowned upon, no matter how many extra hours she has been putting in. Quickly grabbing her bag off the passenger seat, she jogged up to the entrance of the gym. Avoiding the judging glares from Nia, the receptionist she dropped her stuff into the staff room, filled up her water bottle and made her way to the large classroom. 

She liked teaching the boxing class. It was fast paced enough that it didn’t drag and the only people who got up early enough to attend were determined to put in the effort. Unlike the afternoon classes filled with people more interested in socialising or taking selfies to prove they went to the gym. 

“Hey Lexa” Octavia said, pausing her stretch to wave her over.

“Octavia” Lexa nodded professionally in her direction but didn’t approach her. She didn’t want anyone to think she was picking favourites. Luckily Octavia knew what she was like at this stage and just responded with a roll of her eyes and a light shake of her head. She’s sure Clarke would be telling her to lighten up if she were here, but she wasn’t here to make friends. This was her job and she took it very seriously. Octavia could wait until their usual smoothie after class. 

Starting to stretch herself, Lexa took note of the amount of people in the room and was already working out a routine in her mind. Noticing an intent pair of eyes on her while she was stretching her legs, she turned to look at the girl who appeared to be around the same age as her. Although the other girl seemed to bounce back quickly once she was caught staring. 

“Looks like Luna’s checking you out. Wait until Clarke hears about this, she’s going to be so jealous.”

Lexa didn’t even notice that Octavia had snuck up on her. She signed and finally gave Octavia the attention she had been trying to get for the past five minutes. 

“Clarke knows I would never do anything like that. I lo…” Lexa stopped and internally scolded herself for almost saying that out loud. “I care about her too much.” 

Lexa could see the teasing look in Octavia’s eyes and beat her to it before she could say anything. 

“Don’t you dare repeat that or I’ll make all of these lessons a living hell for you.” 

Octavia tried to look hurt, but her smile betrayed her. “I would never.” She winked and walked off to stand next to Luna when the timer indicated class was about to start. Of course she went to stand with Luna….

**********************

“Well shit Commander, you know I wasn’t going to say anything to Clarke about the slip up, right?” Octavia panted. 

Lexa had run a heavy session this morning, she’s actually surprised all of them were still standing. Especially Octavia who Lexa had barely offered a break to. She was impressed with her stamina but would never admit that to her. 

“Who told you about that name?” Lexa asked, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her towel. 

“Raven.” Octavia replied, shrugging and taking a large drink of water from her bottle. 

“What! How do you know Raven?”

“Pfft, I know everyone. She wasn’t kidding about the nickname either. I’m sure you terrified the kids at your school with your bootcamps. No wonder they called you that.” 

Not really surprised with that response, Lexa hit Octavia on the back of her legs with her towel and jogged out of the room to the café before she could retaliate. She was starving after only having a banana for breakfast and was almost salivating at the thought of a smoothie. What she really would have loved is some of Clarke’s famous pancakes. Maybe she could convince her to make some on her days off. 

“You bitch. My whole body feels like jelly right now and you expect me to catch you?” 

Octavia finally caught up and slumped down into one of the chairs at the café, gasping for breath and draping herself over the cool metal table. 

“No. I never expected you to catch me.” Lexa smirked

“Ha, Ha. Really, what does Clarke even see in you?”

Lexa lifted her shirt slightly to point to her sweaty abs. She had meant to do it to get back at Octavia, but when she heard someone collide with the table next to them and saw a blushing Luna retreating as quickly as she could, Octavia lost it in a fit of laughter. She was laughing so hard that her face had turned red and could barely inhale enough air into her lungs. 

“Shut it.” Lexa said, kicking Octavia’s leg under the table and going up to the counter to order her drink. 

********************

Has it been two days, or two weeks? Lexa wouldn’t know which to answer with, because even though it has in fact been two days, it’s felt like two weeks. She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face knowing she was going to see Clarke tomorrow. Would finally be able to kiss her and feel their bodies mould together in a bone crushing hug she knew would be waiting for her at the manor. 

It hasn’t helped that Clarke had been relentless in her teasing too. Sending her all sorts of inappropriate snaps and pictures every day. She has been caught blushing and clutching her phone to her chest too many times to count. Which is exactly what she was doing right now, whilst sitting on the opposite side of the couch to Costia, watching a movie and eating Chinese. They have only hung out a couple of times since Lexa had moved, but this was the first time that Octavia wasn’t there too.

She was trying her hardest to watch the movie and not be distant to her friend, but it was becoming increasingly harder each time a new message came through from Clarke. 

Shapchat from CGriffin – Can’t wait until your home with me babe. As much fun as my own fingers are, yours are so much better. 

Lexa accidently inhaled some of her fried rice after reading that message. She was thankful that she could blame the ripe blush on her cheeks on choking instead of the main reason. She couldn’t think of what to say back to Clarke. Not wanting to start something right now with Costia only a meter away, but also not wanting to disappoint her girlfriend. 

“Are you alright Lex? You seem a bit distracted.” Costia nodded towards the phone in her hand and half smiled, looking a little bit upset with how much attention Lexa was paying to it. 

“Yeah sorry, Clarke is just a bit excited about tomorrow.” Lexa tries her best to make her laugh seem genuine, but she seemed to forget for a moment just how much Costia knows her. Costia pushed out her own attempt at a laugh and returned to watching the TV. 

Shapchat from CommanderWoods – Baby there is nothing I would rather be doing right now then…. well, you. But I’m not really paying attention to Costia and I feel bad about it. Can I call you after?

It was a hard situation not being able to give them both attention at the same time. She didn’t want to risk upsetting Clarke but Costia was right here and she still considered her one of her best friends. When she didn’t receive a response back from Clarke after a few minutes her heart sank, knowing that her girlfriend was probably upset with her. Tomorrow she vowed to make it up to her, but right now she had to make it up to her friend.

“Remember that time at school when Anya got suspended for decking Murphy?” Lexa reached over to the bottle on the table and refilled both of their drinks, smiling genuinely at Costia while she did so. 

She was glad to see a smile quickly take over the other girl’s face. 

“Ha! He should have known better than to speak shit about Raven while she was there. Even though they weren’t dating yet everyone knew it was going to happen. She had a special face reserved only for Raven.”

Lexa laughed, replaying the memory in her head along with the burning snarl on Anya’s face as soon as Murphy uttered her name. 

“She still does the face to this day, but she does a better job at hiding it now that she’s aware what it looks like”

They both try their best impressions of Anya’s lovesick puppy face and laugh so much at each other that their cheeks start to ache. 

“You know, if Anya could see us right now she would probably beat the shit out of us.” Costia said, wiping a small tear from the side of her eye from laughing. 

“Probably, but it’s always worth it with her.” 

Things quiet down a bit after they finally settle, watching the movie on the large TV with them both throwing in comments it. It felt so familiar and Lexa didn’t realise how much she had missed not being able to do it over the years.

“I’m really glad we found each other again Lex. Even though it’s different this time, I feel like a part of me that was missing for so long has finally come back. I know we won’t be together like that again, but I just want to know that you are the closest thing to family that I’ve ever had.” 

“I feel the same way Cos. You really should come to the manor some time, mum would be over the moon to see you again.” Lexa shuffled over to give Costia a quick hug before grabbing their plates and starting to clean up. 

This apartment wasn’t hers, and Abby would often be in and out between shifts to sleep, so she kept it as tidy as possible. Costia got up and helped her since the movie had finished. Between the two of them it took no time to get everything looking like no one lived here again. 

“Do you have any plans for Christmas?” Lexa blurted out before considering to ask anyone else. She was leaning against the kitchen bench watching as Costia gathered her things to leave. 

“Um no. I usually just volunteer at the soup kitchen or something to keep me company. It’s ok though, the people are always really nice.” Costia replies, slinging her bag over her shoulder and casting her eyes down at the floor. 

“Why don’t you drive out to the manor for Christmas and spend it with us? Anya and Raven are going to be there, and I know it would mean the world to mum.” 

“Are you sure the Griffins won’t mind? I wouldn’t want to cause any trouble.” 

Lexa placed her hand on Costia’s shoulder and squeezed lightly. 

“Positive. You are family, and Christmas is a time to spend with family.” 

She was slightly taken aback when Costia wrapped her in a tight hug, but reciprocated it easily, knowing how much the offer probably meant to the other girl.

“Ok, text me the details?” Costia pulled back and rearranged the strap on her bag that had fallen half down her arm. Her eyes were sparkling like she was another sentence away from crying, so Lexa kept it short.

“I will, night Cos.” Lexa opened the front door for her and handed her the leftovers to take home. Offering her a kind smile and a wave as she was leaving.

“Goodnight Lexa.” Costia waved from the hallway.

As soon as the door closed, Lexa scrummaged to find her phone. Praying that there would be a message on there when she checked it. Unfortunately, the only notification she had was from Facebook saying that Raven had tagged her in something. She didn’t open it, not in the mood to look at whatever post she deemed hilarious enough to tag her in. 

She went to the bedroom to start getting ready to sleep but could barely find the strength to move after sitting down at the edge of the large, empty bed. Even though she knew if Clarke hadn’t responded by now that she probably wasn’t going to, she still checked her phone every minute just in case. But every time she checked, it made her feel even more lonely. 

The apartment was always eerily quiet, no matter the time of day. It was high enough from the street that the traffic couldn’t be heard, and was the only apartment on this floor so there weren’t any neighbours. This was the time a day that she never felt more alone. In the darkness of the room with no one in sight. 

If you had asked her before she moved to the manor, this would have been her perfect situation. But now she longed for her mothers teasing and easy affection. She longed to feel the warm back pressed up against her that she had gotten used to every night before she moved. All she had to do was fall asleep. Fall asleep and wake up early so she could drive to the manor and be with the people she loved most.

But sleep felt like an impossible task. Before she even realised what she was doing, she was out of the bed and packing her bag. Her mum would kill her for driving so late at night, but she would argue that it would be more dangerous making the trip on a small amount of sleep. At this stage though, she wouldn’t mind dealing with the argument with her mother if she could be there sooner. 

If you asked her what she even packed into her duffle bag as she locked up the apartment and threw it into the passenger seat of her car, she wouldn’t be able to tell you. She was more interested in getting the hell out of her and being with Clarke. Necessities be dammed. 

Luckily it was already past 6pm when she got home from work, so she managed to get a carpark in front of the building. It had barely been five minutes since she was loading up her bag to when she pulled the car away from the curb.

The city was so peaceful at night. More so than the early morning. No matter how early in the morning they were, people were still always rushing to get somewhere. But at night, the road was sparse and deserted. She could turn the music on her stereo right up and not have to worry about concentrating so hard. 

It was only when she left the city and all she had to rely on for a light source was from her headlights, that she turned it down to concentrate. The last thing she needed was to hit some stray animal that was drawn to her lights and risk damaging herself or the car. This car meant too much to her and her mother probably wouldn’t let her drive again. 

When she hit the half way mark all she could think about is what she was going to say to Clarke when she got there. Would she even want to talk to her? It was nearing midnight now though, so there is a high possibility that she won’t even be awake. Maybe she should just go back to their small house and curl up in her own bed. That way she would already be here in the morning and they could talk then.

She made up her mind. That would be the best thing to do considering she upset Clarke. She should give her some space, right?

Driving through the thick trees felt more exciting than it ever had. Even when she had driven back the other times she had days off. Her job was still very new at that stage and she was working out her new daily routine. But now that it had all finally set in, nothing felt more familiar and comforting than driving up to the large gates of the manor. 

She punched in the code and waited a moment before she had driven through to make sure the gate closed behind her. Ever meter closer she got, the more her heart picked up a beat. Because every meter closer was another meter closer to Clarke. She parked her car in the usual spot but didn’t waste any time. As soon as she pulled the keys out she was reaching over for her bag and turning towards the path to her house. She was thrilled when the feeling of familiarity rushed over her. This is her home.

Even though her mind was telling her not to, she glanced up at Clarke’s balcony as she made her way past the cars in the driveway. When she expected to be met with complete darkness though, she could see a flickering light shining through the glass windows. Clarke must still be awake watching tv. 

An internal battle raged inside her head. Trying to decide weather or not to go home as planned or head up to Clarke’s room and see her right now. Her heart was telling her to run right up to the Griffins house and embrace her. But her head was telling her to cool down and stick to the original plan to see her tomorrow. 

She shook her head and took off in the direction of her own house. But she barely made it a few steps before she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. In a rush of excitement, she almost dropped her phone to read it and swore under her breath when she saw another notification from Raven. Doesn’t this girl ever sleep?

Checking it quickly on her lock screen and swiping to get rid of the notification, she paused again when she looked at the beautiful blue eyes looking back at her on her phone. It was a picture Clarke had sent her almost a week ago when she was feeling particularly sooky. Wisps of hair swept over her face due to the breeze and beautiful toothy smile with her tongue poking out between them. 

She couldn’t possibly wait another minute to be with her. Even if Clarke told her to go away, she needed to see her. Turning on her heel, she jogged towards the large doors of the Griffins house. Thankfully, they never lock it so she was able to walk straight in. 

Her mind was set on one thing and one thing only as she quietly shut the door behind her and eyed off the staircase. So, she jumped out of her skin when she felt a large hand on her shoulder just as she was about to put her foot down on the first step.

“Lexa? What are you doing here so late, did you drive back at this hour?” 

Lexa took a deep, steadying breath and clenched her eyes shut for a moment before turning to face Jake. 

“Um, yeah. I couldn’t sleep. I’m sorry, I can just go.” 

She was turning to leave, not wanting him to see how vulnerable she was right now, but he caught her arm to stop her. 

“Don’t be silly, you just scared me. I wasn’t expecting anyone to walk into the house at this time of night. Abby and Clarke have already gone to bed and I know your mother doesn’t work this late.”

Jake was looking at her worryingly and let go of her arm as soon as he knew she wasn’t going to run off. 

“Sorry, I honestly wasn’t expecting anyone to be down here and I noticed Clarke’s TV was still on.” She pointed up towards the stairs as she spoke. 

“It’s ok, I know how it can get at the apartment when you are by yourself. Abby and I tried living there for a little while after we bought it, so it would be easier for her when she’s working. But after living here there is no comparison.” He motioned looked around the house with awe painted all over his face. 

“Yeah, but it’s where I need to be right now.” She lowered her head and bit her lip to keep her emotions in check.

“I get that, you need to live your life too… Well don’t let me keep you, Clarke might be asleep but I’m sure she won’t mind you waking her up. She’s been in a bit of a mood all night.” 

“Thanks Mr Griffin.” 

“Don’t Mr Griffin me. It’s Jake. More so now that your dating my daughter!” 

Lexa’s blush could obviously be seen even in the dimly lit entrance because Jake was chuckling lightly as he retreated back into the living area. She took another deep breath to steady herself and started to climb the stairs once again. 

The closer she got to Clarke’s door, the more her hands started to shake. She could hear the tv playing in the background but decided to knock lightly on the door anyway.

“Clarke?” She almost whispered

She waited almost a full minute before and calling her name again, but again she heard nothing. Ok, here goes, she thought to herself as she put her hand on the door knob and pushed the door open slowly. Her head was just sticking through the doorway as she looked around tentatively. There was no sign of Clarke in the living area, so she walked further into the room and checked her bed. 

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of her girlfriend, asleep and curled up into a ball on her bed with a few tissues scattered around her. She could feel her heart clench in her chest. This was her fault. She shouldn’t have been so short with Clarke, especially over a snapchat conversation. 

Before going over to Clarke, she went to the living area to turn off the tv and noticed some more tissues on the table. She really is a horrible girlfriend. Scooping up the rubbish around the tv and the bed, she put it into the small bin beside the couch, needing to do something for Clarke right now, however small. 

It was becoming increasingly hard to be this close to her without embracing her. So, Lexa climbed up onto the bed from the opposite side, curled around Clarke’s back and draped her arm around her waist. She could feel her breathing and it started to calm down the storm of emotions running through her. 

Clarke began to shuffle after a couple of minutes and Lexa pulled back slightly, not wanting to scare her. 

“Clarke?” Lexa whispered.

All it took was a moment after hearing her name so closely that Clarke finally woke up. She looked startled when she first noticed someone else there with her. But her eyes and face changed to something completely different when she realised who it was.

Lexa was preparing herself to be pushed away. Even going as far as sitting up on the bed to try and put some distance between them.

“I’m sorry that I just came in here, I really needed…” 

Lexa’s words were cut off with a pair of lips moulding to hers and she felt so overwhelmed that she was almost about to cry. Clarke still wanted to be with her. She still cared about her enough to want to kiss her. 

They kissed softly for long moments, trying to pull each other as close as they could. Hands gripped into shirts but lips remaining steady and tender. It was Clarke who eventually pulled back from the kiss, but not far enough that they weren’t sharing the same air anymore. 

“I missed you so much Lex.” 

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you Clarke. I couldn’t spend another night away from you.” 

Lexa rested her head against Clarke’s and didn’t notice that she was crying until she felt soft thumbs brush away the tears.

“I can’t believe you drove this late. I’d be mad if I wasn’t so happy that you’re here.” 

“I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have said..”

“Shhhh” Clarke put her fingers up over Lexa’s lips to stop her from talking, then leaned in for another kiss.

“We can talk tomorrow. Right now I just want to kiss you and fall asleep with your arms wrapped around me.”

“Ok, come here.” 

They kissed and didn’t break for air for almost half an hour before sleep took over them. Still facing each other with their hands wound tightly into shirts. Happy tears leaving small streaks of evidence against their cheeks.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Lexa work through their issues and re bond ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I smashed this chapter out in one afternoon so I hope it's ok!

It’s 10am the next morning when Clarke is sitting on her balcony, starting to get anxious. She had woken up with her girlfriend beside her, but their reunion was short lived when Indra came looking for Lexa. At first, she was confused how she even knew Lexa was home in the first place. But when her father peeked his head through the door and gave her a soft apologetic look, it was pretty clear. 

If Clarke had known that Lexa was planning to drive so late in the night to get home, she would have threatened her with some harsh words to stop it from happening. It was fairly obvious by Indra’s demanding nature this morning that Lexa was probably going to get it a lot worse from her mother than she could have done anyway though. 

Part of her felt bad for Lexa, knowing how the hard gazes from Indra could make a grown man cower. There was no chance she was leaving the quiet comfort of her room to go looking for that though. She wished they had talked more last night, but her tiredness and need to be smothered by her girlfriends embrace won out over everything else. Dozens of things floated around in her mind that she wanted to talk to her about, so hopefully she doesn’t lose her nerve when the time comes to actually say the words out loud. 

Distracting herself from the conversation and the slight anger she was feeling towards Lexa and Costia, she took out the almost finished canvas of Anya and Raven that she had started when they were leaving. They are going to be here again next week for the holidays, but luckily she has found herself with a lot of spare time since Lexa moved. At least over Christmas Lexa would have more time off when the gym wasn’t running classes.

It was almost lunch time when she finally spotted Lexa and Indra making their way back to the house. She would be lying if she said that it didn’t bug her. Half the day is almost over and she only has until tomorrow afternoon with Lexa. Judging by the look on Indra’s face, she doubts Lexa will be allowed to leave any later than 5pm to get pack to Polis before dark. 

So she knew her decision not to acknowledge Lexa when she quietly knocked on the door and entered a few seconds later was emotional, but right now she couldn’t control it. 

“Clarke?” 

What she hadn’t thought about though, was the effect Lexa’s defeated voice had on her resolve. She spun around on her chair and faced her girlfriend, who had obviously been crying. 

Clarke sighed. Quickly cleaning up her paintbrush and walking over towards her bed where Lexa was sitting. She barely felt the bed come in contact beneath her before Lexa’s hand shot out go hold hers. 

“I’m sorry. For everything. I knew it was going to be hard. But I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.”

She felt her heart clench in her chest. Was Lexa going to end their relationship? Did she not want to fight for it? Nothing came out of her mouth as a response. She had planned to say something, but when she opened her mouth nothing but a sad whimper came out. 

It seemed like Lexa was waiting for a response though. So they sat in quiet for a few minutes before Clarke swallowed the lump in her throat.

“It’s ok. I know you’ve been through a long distance relationship before. You probably don’t want to deal with that all over again. I’m sorry if I pressured you into the long distance. I’ll understand if it’s too hard for you to do again.”

Lexa shuffled closer so she could wrap her arm around Clarke’s waist. 

“It’s harder this time then it was last time. But I care so deeply for you Clarke. More than I have with anyone else.” Lexa sighed heavily. 

“I’m falling for you.” She paused. “No. More than that.”

Lexa took both of Clarke’s hands in her own, softly cradling them and running her thumbs over Clarke’s palms. “I love you, Clarke.” 

Clarke certainly wasn’t expecting those words to come out of Lexa’s mouth. She was expecting them to cry or have an argument, or both. But not this. She knows how she feels about Lexa. She has for a while now. So it was easy for the words to come out this time.

“Lex” She sobbed. “I love you too.” 

One of the brightest smiles Clarke has ever seen burst from Lexa’s cheeks. They both leaned at the same time and their lips met in a firm, desperate kiss. Clarke pulled Lexa down onto the bed so they were facing each other. Wanting to be as close as possible to the girl she loved. She kissed her like it was both their first and last kiss. Trying to seep all of her feelings from her mouth to Lexa’s. 

She wasn’t sure how long they kissed for, but both of them were in dire need of air. Clarke tucked her head into the crook of Lexa’s neck and inhaled in her familiar scent while trying to get her breath to return to normal. Tears rolled down the side of her face and it took her a moment to realise that they weren’t hers. 

“Are you ok babe?” 

“So long as we are ok, I’m ok.” Lexa replied.

“We’re fine Lex. But we do need to talk.” 

“I know. I’m sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have pushed you to the side to spend time with Costia.” 

Clarke reached her arm up to wipe away the tears from her favourite green eyes. 

“I don’t mind you spending time with her. But I hate that we barely get to talk to each other. It upset me because last night we would usually be speaking on the phone, and then you wouldn’t even text me. I felt like you didn’t want to talk to me at all” 

“I always want to talk to you. So I’m sorry for making you think otherwise. It’s just hard because I work so much but still want to give everyone my attention when I can. I upset mum because I don’t talk to her enough. I upset Anya, Raven and Costia. And I upset you. I need this job, but I don’t know what to do.” 

Clarke was silent for a few moments, taking in everything that Lexa said and trying to come up with a way to help her. But she kept one arm softly moving up and down Lexa’s back so she knew she was still present in the conversation. 

She had been thinking of a resolution even before Lexa left. It would solve a lot of the problems with them not having enough time together, as well as spending some time with her other friends. But she was originally scared they would to move too fast and eventually burn out. It seemed like the only choice to make things better though.

“I have a suggestion, if you’re willing.” 

Clarke felt the nod of Lexa’s chin on the top of her head and knew she had heard. 

“Why don’t I spend drive up to Polis every Tuesday and leave some time on Thursday? That gives us an extra two nights together each week and then maybe you won’t feel so bad spending some time with your mum while you’re at the manor?”

She could have sworn both of them stopped breathing for a moment with how quiet it was. 

“Is that what you want though? Don’t change your life just for me baby. We can make it work. I could always talk to work and see….”

Clarke silenced Lexa with a slow kiss, knowing that she rambled when she was nervous. She pulled back to look into Lexa’s eyes when she spoke again. 

“This is what I want. When you leave I miss you so much it hurts. At least this way we only have to wait a maximum of two days until we see each other. Plus, I’ll be able to see Octavia more often, and do a weekly drop off at Trikru.” 

Lexa flipped Clarke onto her back and cupped her cheek with her right hand. 

“If I hadn’t already said that I loved you before. I most certainly would have said it now”. Lexa leaned down and kissed Clarke, both of them smiling into the kiss. “Thank you. I can’t wait to have you there with me.” 

“I love you Lexa. I can’t wait to be there with you too.” 

Clarke pulled Lexa down by her shoulders so their bodies moulded together. She couldn’t believe how much her life had changed since Lexa walked into her life. Never had she felt so much love and so much pain in such a small space of time. There was no place she would rather be right now. Curled up in her loves embrace with their lips moving against each other. 

They kissed until their lips were bruised, and then kept kissing. Both content not to go any further in this moment. Just enjoying the feeling of being together over anything else. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in Clarke’s room watching TV. Eating the sandwiches and chips that Clarke went down to the kitchen to get for them. By the time dinner rolled around, they found themselves in the Griffins dining room alongside Jake, Abby and Indra. Teased like they have never been teased before while they ate the roast that Indra prepared. 

After a lengthy but enjoyable dinner despite the teasing, Clarke was helping her parents clean up while Indra and Lexa spent some time together at the table. She almost bit her tongue to stop herself from telling Lexa she should spend the night with her mum. But she knew it was the right thing to do. Just as she had finished up the cleaning and her parent’s excused themselves to the loungeroom, she popped her head back into the dining room. 

Indra and Lexa were hugging, and she could see Indra whispering softly into her daughters ear. She didn’t want to intrude, but if Indra was about to leave it was better to say something now.

“Thank you for dinner Indra, it was delicious.” 

Indra smiled at her but still held onto Lexa tightly. Obviously not ready to let go yet.

“You are very welcome Clarke. Come here” She waved Clarke over to them and wrapped Clarke up in the hug too. 

“You two need to take care of each other. You are both too special to let each other go.” 

Clarke could feel tears threatening to break from the corners of her eyes. She wasn’t expecting this at all. Asking her to look after Lexa? She would expect that. But it warmed her heart that Indra cared enough about her to extend that request to Lexa too. 

She pulled back from the embrace when Indra raised her hands to Lexa’s cheeks so she could kiss her forehead. 

“I’m so proud of you.” She whispered to Lexa.

Clarke felt like she was intruding on an intimate moment. She wasn’t sure weather to look at them, or go back into the kitchen. 

“Lex why don’t you stay with your mum tonight? I feel like both of you need that right now.” 

Indra waved her hand as if she was dismissing the comment. 

“I’m going straight to bed when I get home. You two spend this time with each other. My daughter didn’t drive back at a stupid time last night just to see me.” She winked at Lexa and gave Clarke a hug before bidding them both goodnight. 

After Indra had left the room, Lexa stood behind Clarke and wrapped her arms around her. “Do you want to go for a swim? I think I miss the pool more than anything else”

“Ha, ha.” Clarke slapped her arm and pulled her by the hand back up to Clarke’s room. 

“Did you bring a bathing suit?” Clarke watched Lexa sort through the weird assortment of clothes in her bag. 

“No, but I have some back at our house. I’ll go get changed and meet you there?” Lexa kissed her cheek and slung her bag over her shoulder. 

“Sure, I’ll bring the towels.” 

After Lexa left, Clarke went through her wardrobe to find the bikini she was looking for. She never had a chance to wear it before. The only time she ever put it on was after she had already bought it and realised that she could never wear it in public. The bikini and matching bottoms were modest enough if not for the colour. She expected the white material to cover everything properly, as a bathing suit should. But after putting it on for the first time she squealed when her nipples could easily be seen through the white. 

It definitely wasn’t something to wear in public. But she had a feeling Lexa would like it. Plus, she had paid for it. It would be a shame if she never wore it. 

She pulled on a light coloured summer dress to cover herself on the way to the pool. Thankful that she did when she ran into her parent’s on their way to bed. The teasing at dinner would have been nothing compared to what they would have said about her clothing. 

When she got to the pool it was still dark so she knew that she had beat Lexa there. She turned on the soft blue lights that illuminated the water and one of the smaller lights above the seating area. It was just enough to see everything but not enough light everything up like a beacon in the night. With the slight chill in the air she decided to turn on the heater as well.

She placed both of their towels onto chairs and went to dip her feet into the pool. It never ceased to amaze her how bright the stars were out here. They barely existed amongst the artificial lights of the city. But out here their beauty shone magnificently. 

Speaking of beauty. Clarke had to stop her jaw from hitting the floor as Lexa walked into the pool yard in a bikini top and shorts. She had noticed subtle differences in her body since she had been working at the gym, but her stomach and legs were definitely more toned since the last time she saw this much of her. God, it has been too long since she’s seen her naked. 

Lexa didn’t seem to be faring much better by the predator like look in her eyes. She could almost feel her gaze running up and down her body, stopping at the obvious outline of her nipples and licking her lips. 

“See something you like?”

“Well. The pool does look amazing at night.” Lexa smirked as she walked over to the towels and shimmied out of her pants to reveal a matching set of bottoms. 

“Ass” Clarke mumbled loud enough that Lexa would hear it, then pushed off the side and into the water just before Lexa reached her. It was surprisingly warm since the heater hadn’t had much time to kick in yet. 

“You like my ass, Griffin.” Lexa sat on the edge of the pool and both her legs in the water just under her knees. 

Clarke rolled her eyes and continued to swim around, enjoying the peacefulness of the night and the calming water. She would never deny how much she loved Lexa’s ass, but there was no way she was going to tell her that right now.

It took a few minutes before Lexa finally submerged herself in the pool and caught up to Clarke. The teasing look in her eyes was now gone and replaced with affection. Lexa reached her hands out for Clarke and she gladly accepted them. She was surprised when Lexa hoisted her up to wrap her legs around her waist. But she certainly wasn’t complaining. Being this close to Lexa when they live away from each other has become treat that she indulges in every chance she can get.

Neither of them spoke as they held onto each other. Slowly moving along with the water and listening to the crickets and the wind blowing through the trees. They stayed wrapped up in each other until Clarke felt her hands getting wrinkled and decided to get out. She watched Lexa do laps in while she grabbed both of the towels and placed them on the lounge chairs by the side of the pool. 

She gazed up at the sky and wished this night would last forever. Just the two of them with no expectation of each other, enjoying being in the same space. Lexa startled Clarke by sitting down on the chair beside her. She hadn’t even heard her get out of the pool. If she thought Lexa’s body looked before, it looks even better with a light sheen of water on it and her bikini stuck to her skin. 

Lexa must have felt her eyes on her, because she got up off her chair and moved to lay down next to Clarke. She didn’t speak when she pulled Clarke’s body close to her so their skin was touching. Barely made a sound as she hungrily took Clarke’s lips between her own. Lexa’s hand slowly slid down from her face to her hips, dragging her fingers over her breasts as she went. While the other tangled into the damp locks behind her head. 

Clarke’s breath hitched when she felt long fingers glide over her nipple. But the feeling was over too soon. At least she was still touching her, but she wanted that hand back on her chest. Wanting to speed things up, Clarke coaxed Lexa’s tongue out of her mouth to chase her own and felt her breathing pick up. She let the kiss steadily heat up before she couldn’t take it anymore and brought Lexa’s hand up to her breast. 

Lexa took the hint and wasted no time kneading Clarke’s boob in her hand. Making sure to occasionally tweak her hard nipple. Clarke could barely contain the gasps that were forced out of her chest through her mouth. Even without contact, she could tell that she was becoming incredibly wet. It never took much effort on Lexa’s behalf to make it happen, but after a week of seeing each other, she was drenched way before she felt Lexa’s hand change over to her other breast and tug on her bottom lip. 

She wanted to feel Lexa too, and knew no one was going to disturb them. The pool was far enough from the house that no one would hear them, and her parent’s were heavy sleepers. So she reached around Lexa’s back and pulled the string on her bikini top before pulling it over her head. 

She loved Lexa’s breasts. Just the sight of them made her throb with incredible need. Between the feeling of Lexa rolling her nipple between her finger and her own hands on Lexa’s chest, her hips started bucking of their own accord. Always the considerate lover, Lexa noticed and sped things up a bit.

Clarke wasn’t sure how or when Lexa had untied her top, but she was incredibly grateful when she felt lips wrap around her nipple. 

“Fuck I’ve missed your mouth on me” Clarke moaned and weaved her fingers through Lexa’s hair to encourage her to keep going. It was one of the hottest things she had ever seen when Lexa pulled back from one nipple that was now glistening with her saliva to attack the other one with her tongue. 

Clarke had missed this so much that she was sure if Lexa kept going, she was going to cum. Her clit was throbbing and she could feel the wetness coating her thighs. She needed Lexa to touch her pussy. 

With her hand still wrapped around Lexa’s brunette locks, she dragged her back up to kiss her lips. 

“Babe.. ahh…I need you….I need you to make me cum.” 

Clarke felt Lexa’s deep moan against her lips and it made her want to be touched even more. If that was even possible at this stage. She almost screamed when she felt Lexa’s hand snake down her body and dip into her bikini bottoms. 

“Fuck, Clarke. You’re so wet.” 

Clarke panted wildly as she felt Lexa’s fingers roam around her pussy, but not touching her anywhere that she needed it. She was about to say something when she heard Lexa whisper into her ear.

“I want to taste you so badly Clarke. You have no idea.” Lexa sucked on Clarke’s bottom lip and ran her tongue over it while grazing her fingers down the side of Clarke’s clit. 

All she cared about right now was feeling the absolute bliss that she knew Lexa would bring her. She knew it wouldn’t take much to make her cum right now. And she knows that Lexa loves her just as much as she does Lexa. So despite her nervousness, she agreed. 

“Ok” 

Lexa immediately stopped everything she was doing to look at Clarke with wide, excited eyes.

“OK? Are you sure?” 

“I’m sure. Just promise you won’t leave me if you don’t like how I taste?” 

“I swear on my life Clarke. Thank you.” Lexa kissed her lovingly while she ran her hands down Clarke’s body to remove the last barrier of clothing. She kissed Clarke’s neck and bit on her earlobe.

“I’m going to make you feel so good baby. But stop me at any time if you feel uncomfortable, ok?” 

All Clarke could do was nod her head and kiss Lexa for as long as she allowed before she felt plump lips kissing down her body. It had been a very long time since she had someone else do this to her, so she was feeling incredibly nervous. But she trusted Lexa to take care of her. 

Her breathing sped up as soon as Lexa finished kissing her breasts and started descending lower, running her tongue from her navel to the top of her mound. Delicate fingers spread her lower lips apart and a warm breath against her most intimate area caused her to shiver. She wasn’t sure what to expect from Lexa doing this for her. 

But it certainly wasn’t the incredible sensation of a wet tongue slowly dipping into her pussy and running around her clit. She couldn’t hold in the powerful moan that burst from her chest if she wanted to and was thankful that they didn’t do this in the house. 

She thought the look of Lexa licking her nipples was hot. But nothing compared to her between her legs. Lips glistening with her own wetness and as eyes black as night. 

“You taste so fucking good Clarke.”

Everything after Lexa lowering her mouth to suck on her clit was a blur. Everything Lexa did made her see stars and set a fire inside her core. Her tongue flicking over her clit. Her lips sucking it in. Her teeth softly dragging against it. Then there was the indescribable feeling of that soft, wet tongue inside her pussy, dragging against her front wall. 

She had to give Lexa credit. Never once did she come up for air. Clarke had to avoid looking down at her in fear of cumming straight away. Her body had received more pleasure than she thought possible and she hadn’t even cum yet. She could tell that Lexa was dragging it out for her sake. Because whenever she was close to cumming Lexa would change from her pussy to her clit or visa versa. 

How did she go so long without Lexa’s mouth? She certainly wouldn’t be going this long again. At that moment she wondered how it would feel to have Lexa’s pussy in her mouth. To feel her sticky juices on her lips and tongue. 

She wasn’t sure if it was the thought of going down on Lexa, or Lexa going down on her but her body locked up like a vice and she could vaguely feel her hand pushing Lexa’s face closer to her. But she came harder than she ever had in her life. Desperately clawing at whatever she could as her eyes rolled into the back of her head her mouth was open in a silent scream. 

The feeling didn’t dissipate straight away, and her body shook every time she felt Lexa’s tongue rolling around her clit to help her down from her high. After a while she started becoming too sensitive and gently tugged Lexa’s hair to bring her back up. She could barely keep her eyes open with how tired she was now. Lexa literally sucked out every bit of energy she had left in her body.

“Was that ok?” Lexa was hovering over her with a tentative look on her face. How did she not realize how much Clarke enjoyed that?

“It was earth shattering. You can do that to me as much as you want.” Clarke mumbled and kissed Lexa’s forearm that was just beside her head. 

Her heart soared when she felt Lexa slip her clothes back onto her, including the sundress. She would have to ask her tomorrow how she managed to do so. But didn’t really need to ask once she felt her body being cradled and lifted off the chair. 

“mmm. Love you Lex.” Clarke mumbled into Lexa’s neck. 

She faintly heard Lexa chuckle and grab their things before she fell asleep. When she woke up a few hours later in her bed she was wearing her pyjamas with her blanket tucked into her chest. Lexa was spooning her from behind and was fast asleep. She had never felt so content in her life.


End file.
